Nick Clegg's veto of Tory plans opens up divisions in knife crime debate
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Version 0 of 1. Splits in the coalition over mandatory prison sentences for anyone caught with a knife twice are being echoed in the starkly different positions on the merits of the policy being taken by victims' families and campaigners for criminal justice reform. Victims and their families condemn deputy prime minister Nick Clegg's opposition to tougher sentences, while academics and youth justice experts question the value of mandatory sentencing as a deterrent. Clegg says his veto of a Tory plan to jail automatically any offender caught twice in possession of a knife was a rejection of "headline-grabbing solutions" in the aftermath of the fatal stabbing of Leeds teacher Ann Maguire. But Alan Whitfield, 41, who was a scaffolder for 27 years before being stabbed last year, said: "I'm disgusted with Nick Clegg. Knife crime is getting out of hand. Every night there is a stabbing. Unless it happens to you or someone close to you, it goes over people's heads. Whitfield has undergone nine operations since the attack and says doctors have told him not to lift anything heavier than a part-filled kettle of water. He is unlikely to work again. He said: "Nick Clegg is saying prison isn't the answer. What about people on the receiving end of the knife?" Whitfield's attacker had been out of prison for barely a month after serving a sentence for another knife attack. Whitfield said sentences for knife crimes were generally too lenient. "I believe the government is for me being stabbed. The bugger who stabbed me, I'm the fourth person he had stabbed." Two teenagers have lost their lives to knife crime in the last week in London. The mother of one victim, Ashifa Sayani, whose business student son Jamil, 18, was killed in an apparent row over £20 in broad daylight in west London, said: "I've lost my son. The hurt that has been caused is unimaginable. All I ask is that you trust the police and come forward. How would you feel if this happened to your loved one?" She issued a message to the community: "You have all shown great love, with the flowers and gifts left at the bench, please don't let him down, you were all there with him through life, be there through death, stand by him, your mate, help him rest in peace. "Forget your street code, it is not grassing and it is not cool. Just tell the police what happened and who was involved." Last year, three out of 10 people caught with a knife were jailed. There were 16,031 cases of a person caught in possession of a knife, with 28% resulting in a custodial sentence. The majority were not sent to prison; more than 3,200 received a caution or fine. Caroline Shearer, who founded Only Cowards Carry Weapons Awareness after her 17-year-old son Jay Shearer was fatally stabbed at a party in 2012, is also in favour of mandatory sentences and angry about the Lib Dems' opposition. "It is a disgrace. I am a member of the club no one wants to join – the murdered children club," she said. "To say that you shouldn't put young people in jail in case they come out as criminals, what is that saying about the criminal justice system? I am zero tolerance. There is always an excuse for why people carry knives, but we all know right from wrong." But Shauneen Lambe, director of Just for Kids Law, a legal firm dedicated to supporting young people, does not think automatic prison sentences are a constructive measure. "Prison doesn't work. If it worked, then we could have a different conversation," she says. "I have never seen a situation where prison improved someone's life. There are lots of programmes that make people better citizens but prison is not one of them. Look at the statistics around youth prisons, with a 70% reoffending rate. Less than 25% of prisoners in young offenders' institutions receive 15 hours a week education. It is not a good environment to rehabilitate or reintegrate people." She says restorative justice is more powerful at discouraging people from using knives. "Get them talking to family members who have lost someone. It is incredibly effective." She pointed out that mandatory sentencing took away the judges' discretion to consider individuals' mitigating circumstances: "The whole point of courts is to take into account people's circumstances. With mandatory sentencing, there is no consideration of that." Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, says the debate is not really about the value of mandatory sentencing but about coalition politics in the runup to the 2015 general election. "There has never been any evidence that mandatory sentencing has an impact on people's decisions about doing things that get them into trouble," he says. "I imagine Chris Grayling [the justice secretary] understands that this kind of mandatory sentence doesn't have any real kind of impact, but this policy works for the Conservatives as it makes them look tough and decisive. It doesn't work on the level of public safety but it works on the level of politics. "There are many reasons why people might carry knives – they might be motivated by fear, they can be genuinely concerned for their safety. If you really want to stop young people from carrying knives, then maybe you should talk to young people about why they carry them and maybe do something about the society they live in which encourages them to carry them." |