UK Politics Thread (Part 4)

I tried looking that up, but I didn’t see any formal definition. I must have missed something, thanks!

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Part 1 Section 1 of the Serious Crime Act is a positive list. From there, the Act triggers all sorts of powers of enforcement, including the controversial orders.

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Yes, I just found this too. Thanks for the direction!

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I didn’t know that, thanks.

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It doesn’t matter what you call it. It’s what’s in the legislation that counts.

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I didn’t know that either, but I didn’t go blathering on and on claiming I was correct without looking things up, did I?

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However, to lower the case, a serious crime (not a Serious Crime) must surely be one that requires a custodial sentence of multiple years. I stand by a 5 year sentence being serious (as pointed out, not Serious).

Blathering? Wow, is there no start to your sesquipedalianism?

When one is dealing with the exigencies of what amounts to a crisis (not enough prison space for sentences), there isn’t a great deal of choice about what definitions to use. What you are suggesting would require different legislation, and fairly complex legislation at that which would add an additional gradation of crime (serious but not Serious) to the judicial system, but with what amounts to solely a logistical purpose. You can produce fairly spectacular unintended consequences with that kind of thing.

In practical terms, the population that you are suggesting be targeted for early release would be solely those greater than 2 years and less than 5 years. I don’t know the UK prison data at all, but there is no way that that was not already being done years ago as this crisis was building. No one particularly notices when the 3 year custodial sentences are routinely commuted after 18 months to some kind of release program.

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‘Offenders serving more than five years are being released on licence after spending 40% of their time behind bars.’

It’s always been my understanding that you only serve half your sentence anyway , unless you fuck up badly while you’re in prison. Most of those being released are also coming from open prisons so are not considered dangerous. When you break it down , there’s nothing revolutionary about it , just an acceptance that inmates have to be expedited more quickly , unless that is you want the entire system to come to a standstill and have the doomsday scenario of convicted men serving their sentences in local police stations.

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The doomsday scenario is courts arbitrarily deciding that because the person in front of them at that moment cannot be sentenced to custodial time, they are discharged in some other way.

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They are then released on license. I’m assuming that the early release is not affecting the original sentence, and that they remain within the parole system.

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I believe so? According to New change to some offenders' automatic release dates - GOV.UK the only change is just the 50% → 40%.

I think I read some article not too long ago that the recall rate was similar to what they had expected, and in line with previous experience.

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From that same article, I think the headline is being very disingenuous here.

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And before anyone suggests a political agenda, I think the answer is far more prosaic: shoddy journalism.

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You seemed to have missed this bit but never mind

According to the estimates provided by the government, in the year ending March 2025, March 2026 and March 2028 there will be an additional 50,000 pensioners in relative poverty after housing costs.

In the year ending March 2027, March 2029 and March 2030 an additional 100,000 pensioners would be in relative poverty after housing costs, the estimates say.

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I know what would be nice. You know the way the government automatically knows who to take money off due to policy change, how about having a system in place that automatically pays any credits or benefits those same people might be entitled to instead of making them jump through fucking hoops to get them?

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I read it, but the point still stands. The figures are based on a zero increase in pension credit take-up, which (I believe) is not the case, with increased take-up in the wake of the announcements.

The estimates were provided by the government, and the clarification was provided along with the estimates.

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I started full time employment at 21 and was continually working up to 70 and got my pension at 65. About a year ago I was talking to a mate who had two big breaks from work due to redundancies and when we compared what government pension we received I was getting several hundred a month less. To cut a very long story short eventually I got a cheque for several thousand pounds for years of underpayments. Definitely worth checking you are getting the pensions/benefits you are entitled to.

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