Comment is free Punish the feral rioters, but address our social deficit too

Three-quarters of the adults charged already had a conviction, which is why urgent reforms are needed

Ken Clarke
guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 September 2011

I've dealt with plenty of civil disobedience in my time, but the riots in August shocked me to the core. What I found most disturbing was the sense that the hardcore of rioters came from a feral underclass, cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism. Equally worrying was the instinctive criminal behaviour of apparently random passers-by. What are the lessons for the justice system?

The first is that disorder on our streets must be met with a firm, fast and sustained response. The system was briefly caught unawares, but tested like never before, and ultimately gave a quick and definitive answer to those who thought they could commit crime without consequence. It's thanks to the police officers who cancelled leave, the staff who kept courts open all hours and the judiciary who worked through the night that rioters high on violence soon found themselves facing the cold, hard accountability of the dock. I am hugely impressed by the dedication of our staff, some of whom worked 35-hour shifts to ensure the efficient delivery of justice. These are public-spirited people, doing their duty in the best traditions of public service. The criminal justice system was itself on trial and, though it's still early days, so far it has coped well. It has the capacity – whether in courts, in prisons, in prison transit or probation – to deal with those who come before it.

The second lesson of the riots is that they reaffirm the central point of any sane criminal justice policy: where crimes have been committed, offenders must be properly punished and pay back to the communities they have damaged. The scale of the violence and looting was new, but crimes like arson and burglary are not – and our courts do deal severe punishments to serious offenders.

Needless to say, sentences have been variously attacked as too soft and too tough. I could draw the conclusion that in the main, the judges have probably been getting it about right – but, of course, only those in court know the full facts of each case. The judiciary in this country is independent and we should trust judges and magistrates to base decisions on individual circumstances. Injustices can occur in any system: but that's precisely why we enjoy the services of the court of appeal.
To read more, follow link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/05/punishment-rioters-help?intcmp=239