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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2010 7:11:50 GMT
There is talk once again of keeping more offenders out of prison by giving them more community punishment, with an emphasis on hard labour.
The proposal is that unemployed people will have to complete the order in a shorter time than those in work.
But our sentencing guidelines seem to make no allowance for the fact that someone has a job. Unpaid labour is going to impose a far greater burden on someone already working 40 hours a week than the person kicking their heels all day.
Should the employed have their hours of community service reduced?
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Post by Wonder Woman on Dec 7, 2010 15:22:12 GMT
Well, are we talking about unemployed people who are job hunting or unemployed people who are well-off or unemployed people who live off others? I think it makes a difference.
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Post by Big Lin on Dec 7, 2010 16:02:42 GMT
Whatever form of punishment for offenders you have there are always going to be difficult areas.
My own guess is that most people sentenced to community service are either not working at all or else barely working so it wouldn't make a lot of difference to them.
The majority of them are living off benefits so I doubt if they're already putting in 40 hours a week at a job.
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Post by Wonder Woman on Dec 8, 2010 3:04:13 GMT
Well, the ones who are working would lose their jobs, if not for a community service option when they're imprisoned.
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