Daily News Summary
Friday, 1st August 2008
Main stories
`Knife thugs who escape with an on the spot fine'
Lawyers and magistrates have expressed concern about the number of cautions and on the spot fines. Cindy Barnett of the Magistrates Association is reported to say that magistrates should be carrying out summary justice, not the police behind closed doors. DMail10, DExp2, DTel10
`Foreign inmates reach record numbers in spite of ministers' drive to increase deportations'
One in eight of male prisoners and one in five of women prisoners are foreigners, according to new figures.
Times8
`Five dead children but no murder inquiry'
Police have stated that murder may have taken place at the former Jersey care home where remains have been found but a homicide inquiry is unlikely. DTel5, Times21, Gdn3, Ind16
Other stories
`Payments form part of opaque dealings'
Despite the appointment of Lord Woolf as ethical compliance investigator, BAE Systems payments to offshore companies continue to raise questions highlighted by reports about its links with a Zimbabwean arms dealer. FT2
`Red tape that lets criminals go free'
The chief inspector of court administration, Eddie Bloomfield, has reported that paperwork rules and considerations of confidentiality are hindering the enforcement of warrants. DMail2
`Antigua PM blames Britain for crimewave'
Following the murder of a honeymooning bride, Baldwin Spencer, the Prime Minister of Antigua, says that 280 criminals have been deported to the island in ten years. DMail9
`Isn't this the sort of jail Britain needs?'
A Shock Incarceration Programme in New York state is appreciatively profiled. DExp28
`£3m bill of knife and gun victims'
A study over five years has shown that NHS costs of treating knife and gun crime amount to over £3 million per year. Mirr4
`3m truant days lost'
Almost three million days of education lost because of truanting in the first three months of 2008 have been counted by government. Sun2
`Violence by women has doubled in five years'
Arrests of women for violent offences have doubled since 2003. DTel6
`Ministers seek curbs on teenage suicide websites'
Internet service providers are to be urged to block websites that are considered harmful to people seeking information on suicide. Ind9
Comment, editorials, letters
`Fixed penalties insult our vital sense of justice`
The Express bemoans the rise of fixed penalties which it claims are being used for offences that are in reality far from minor. DExp12
`Case not closed'
The Times urges a more robust approach to the Jersey care home investigations. Times2
`Blame the rich for feeding the drugs industry'
Melanie Reid comments on the pervasive drug culture that cannot be controlled merely by police interventions. Times25
`The government is right- we need to lock up more offenders'
Minister David Hanson defends the use of prison. Gdn35
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These newspaper summaries are drawn up by staff at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. They are not intended to be comprehensive, or wholly uniform in their approach. Instead, they reflect our individual and collective perspectives on the day's coverage, including our judgements in terms of relevance to the Centre's concerns. On occasion, they also reflect the inevitable time constraints within which we work.
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