Bit of a Skoosh


What is the point of sentencing a 26-year old career criminal to 30 months in prison when he has 87 convictions to his name? 

That's the question I asked myself having read this article in the Times, especially when the criminal concerned, Lee Hepburn, doesn't take the whole business seriously and why should he when he will serve only half his sentence - before being released to start all over again.

The only way to safeguard the public against people like Lee Hepburn is to take them off the streets for a long time - which will cost public money of course.

But it's clear that the cost of allowing Lee his freedom is enormous as well, that he is a menace to society and has no intention of learning from his past mistakes, which is not really surprising because he is playing the criminal justice system for a fool.  

I wonder what the judge who sentenced this young man would have to say now about the court's ability to deal effectively with his offending?

A 'result' or a 'bit of a skoosh' - as you might say here in Scotland.  

Man who injured grandmother in car chase bragged about ‘lenient’ sentence



By Simon de Bruxelles

A man with more than 87 criminal convictions has bragged on Facebook from his prison cell about his “lenient” sentence for injuring a grandmother and two grandchildren in a high speed chase.

Lee Hepburn, 26, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving while disqualified. The convicted drugs dealer also admitted possession of more than £10,000 worth of cannabis which he planned to sell.

Hepburn used a mobile phone to update his Facebook status after he was jailed on December 19, bragging that the sentence was a “result”. It is not clear how Hepburn was able to post the messages as mobile phones are banned in prison.

Hepburn, a father of two whose criminal career began when he was 15, will be released after serving half his sentence, less time on remand since his original arrest in July. He posted: “Had a result today got 30 month (sic) be out before my lil mans bday.”

Thirty people “liked” the status and Hepburn’s friends congratulated him. Carla Petherick wrote: “Thank god for some good news.”

Aaron Holt wrote: “That’s awesome mate” while Lorraine Michelle Sala said: “Brilliant result. Can’t believe the judge was so nice”.

On Boxing Day Hepburn took to Facebook again to tell his friends: “Happy christmas everyone i will be out for the next one x.”

Hepburn was jailed for a string of offences at Bournemouth Crown Court. He was caught after two police chases in his blue Vauxhall Astra.

On the second occasion he escaped by driving along a footpath and then collided headon with a car driven by a 58-year-old grandmother. The woman and her grandchildren, aged 13 and 10, suffered whiplash, bruising and severe shock.

Hepburn was arrested four days later with more than £600 worth of cannabis on him.

Previously he had been arrested in possession of £3,764 worth of cannabis. While on bail Hepburn escaped through a window during a police drugs raid and another bag of cannabis worth an estimated £7,000 was recovered.

Neighbours in Bournemouth held a street party when he was jailed in 2006 for breaching an ASBO 21 times.

His 25 previous court appearances on a total of 87 charges had led to conviction for drug dealing, assault, handling stolen goods and numerous driving offences.



Bit of a Skoosh (13 September 2011)


Yesterday two 'dodgy gezeers' were freed from prison - after serving only a quarter of their sentences.

The men in question were former Tory peers - Lords Taylor and Hanningfield - jailed for fiddling their expenses just like four former Labour MPs from the House of Commons.

Now I'm not one of those tearing their hair out because the two noble lords served only a small part of their relatively short sentences - because I believe that short prison sentences don't work and - in any event - are a terrible waste of money.

Instead of providing such criminals with a free roof over their heads and three square meals a day - I'd have them serving their sentences in the community - doing supervised public works in reparation and restitution for their crimes. 

Lords Taylor and Hanningfield - and their fellow Labour MPs - are not a danger to anyone - their real punishment is the public humiliation of being found guilty in court - and the long lasting damage to their reputations.

Locking them up doesn't really achieve anything - and a community based sentence would still deprive them of their liberty - until their sentence has been served.

Prison should be reserved for serious criminals - who should be put away for a long time - and repeat offenders who are clearly embarked on a life crime.

At the moment prison for repeat offenders is just a revolving door - they serve short sentences and come out again - only to cause chaos in their local communities.

A better solution would be to keep such repeat offenders off the streets for longer periods - and while they are in prision - the authorities should insist that they deal with their underlying problems.

Which might be that they can't read or write - or that they have serious drug and alcohol problems.

Because at the moment - far too many repeat offenders regard prison as a 'bit of a skoosh' - as Scottish Justice Minister - Kenny MacAskill once famously said. 

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