UK prisons aren't big enough to jail all paedophiles, senior police officer

[Luiz 4,253]

One of the most senior police officers in the UK has called for greater debate about treating paedophiles rather than sending them to prison, amid concerns there is not enough space in prisons to jail them all.

Chief Superintendent Gavin Thomas, president of the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales issued the warning and called for a “rethink” on current approaches to sex offenders, The Times reports.

Currently, there are close to 45,000 names on the sex offenders’ register. The list contains details of people convicted of sexual offences and is used to monitor offenders following their release from prison. It has been steadily increasing since it was established in 1997.

.....

He added that there is not enough room in prisons to jail all child sex offenders and called for discussion of alternatives: “Should we be going down the criminal justice route or, based on a proper assessment, should we be going down the health route? At the moment I am not seeing alternative thinking on how we deal with this issue as it grows and grows and grows.”

The number of people being convicted of sexual offences has soared in recent times, partly due to high profile cases such as Jimmy Savile encouraging other abuse survivors to come forward. Last year, more than 6,400 people were convicted of such offences in England and Wales, amounting to a 3 per cent increase on the previous year.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/uk-prisons-jail-paedophiles-not-big-enough-capacity-police-warning-a7178851.html

[Slayer 9,227]

Another home run for Britain. 

[PartySick 172,545]

We'll take 'em. We already have a quarter of the world's prison population, might as well take some from other nations

[Luiz 4,253]

7 minutes ago, PartySick said:

We'll take 'em. We already have a quarter of the world's prison population, might as well take some from other nations

you kidding me? we only fill our prisons with brown people

 

ship the pedos to australia, they accept white criminals i hear  

[Dominic 11,922]

I agree. I don't always believe the justice system is the best solution. Some need mental rehabilitation rather than being put into a room for 20 odd years. It's not always a solution and rather just an easy means of punishment. 

The money saved from housing these people could be utilised to give them the proper rehabilitation they need.  

[weed 78,957]

Replace those imprisoned for non-violent drug charges with the pedophiles! Voila 

[ryanripley 86,575]

legalise marijuana then

[ryanripley 86,575]

8 minutes ago, Dominic Marc said:

I agree. I don't always believe the justice system is the best solution. Some need mental rehabilitation rather than being put into a room for 20 odd years. It's not always a solution and rather just an easy means of punishment. 

The money saved from housing these people could be utilised to give them the proper rehabilitation they need.  

i actually saw a video on what you're talking about. i'm not sure which country it is (maybe finland or norway?) but instead of disgusting nasty prisons, criminals go to these "rehab" places where they spend their sentence learning employable skills. the end result being a good majority of prisoners never returning to prison compared to places like the UK or US  

but obviously, there's the whole "but they broke the law!!! why are they living in a hotel for free and im not?!?!" but at the same time, if they'd actually take 5 minutes to look at this rehab idea, they can understand they can do the same for themselves by getting off their butts with good end results  

[Nicole 1,809]

I agree with the context of treatment rather than just sitting in jail. I'm a strong supporter of rehabilitation over punishment in isolation etc. However, if prisons in the UK are literally full I think there should be thought given to what they're sending people to prison for. Are they using prison as a last resort for the most dangerous of offenders and seriousness of crimes, as intended, or are people being imprisoned for petty drug crime, petty theft, common assault, minor traffic offences, breaches of bail that couldn't have possibly been upheld anyway, failure to pay fines etc? I don't know the answer to that question in a UK context, but it's worth looking at 

[Goosey 3,017]

4 hours ago, Dominic Marc said:

I agree. I don't always believe the justice system is the best solution. Some need mental rehabilitation rather than being put into a room for 20 odd years.

And how do you rehabilitate a pedophile? It's not like a shoplifter.

[Dominic 11,922]

9 hours ago, Goosey said:

And how do you rehabilitate a pedophile? It's not like a shoplifter.

There is obviously something mentally wrong with someone who has the attraction and desire to children. You address this and not put them inside a building for X amount of years so when they are released they still have these urges or desire. 

Why do you think the current system is better and works? 

As for the specifics of rehabilitation it would be dependant on each person. I don't claim to know how to do their job!  

[Fusel 1,111]

he is right. the german government actually started a big campaign to rather help pedophiles who seek for help. so many pedophiles know that they are a threat and reach out for help and therapy but no institution, no therapist wants to help them. 

[Saint Laurent 4,862]

But who says they can be treated effectively? I don't know it's a genuine question, has it been proven that paedophiles can be treated and reach a place of mental 'normalcy'? 

[Dominic 11,922]

55 minutes ago, Saint Laurent said:

But who says they can be treated effectively? I don't know it's a genuine question, has it been proven that paedophiles can be treated and reach a place of mental 'normalcy'? 

Maybe, maybe not. I don't think enough effort has been put into it to find out. I think for some it's possible and others maybe not. I aren't an expert at behavioral therapy but it's definitely worth further theory. 

[Goosey 3,017]

11 hours ago, Dominic Marc said:

There is obviously something mentally wrong with someone who has the attraction and desire to children. You address this and not put them inside a building for X amount of years so when they are released they still have these urges or desire. 

Why do you think the current system is better and works? 

As for the specifics of rehabilitation it would be dependant on each person. I don't claim to know how to do their job!  

If you asked "how do you rehabilitate a homosexual" people would tell you it's not possible to do so. So why should these pedophiles be let go when no evidence that they won't reoffend?