[Omah]

Originally Posted by Kerry

.... would you want to meet the offender?

No, not in the street for a punch up. I mean as part of a monitored meeting. For a talk to understand why

What are your thoughts on this? The government are trying to push this sort of thing

No ..... for the most part, criminals are a sub-human species - they cannot, or will not, be rehabilitated or re-oriented ..... let the punishment fit the crime - "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" .....

[Jack_]

Maybe. It'd depend on the severity of the crime, but I doubt I would forgive them no matter what.

Originally Posted by Omah

No ..... for the most part, criminals are a sub-human species - they cannot, or will not, be rehabilitated or re-oriented ..... let the punishment fit the crime - "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" .....

You see, it's comments and beliefs like this that ironically make what you're saying happen. Instead of being accepted back into society, criminals are excluded and as a result form a minority social group in which they can meet other criminals which possess them to commit more crimes. It's a cycle they find hard to break out of, and it's because of comments like this. It really doesn't help matters...at all.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Jack_

Maybe. It'd depend on the severity of the crime, but I doubt I would forgive them no matter what.



You see, it's comments and beliefs like this that ironically make what you're saying happen. Instead of being accepted back into society, criminals are excluded and as a result form a minority social group in which they can meet other criminals which possess them to commit more crimes. It's a cycle they find hard to break out of, and it's because of comments like this. It really doesn't help matters...at all.

It's a cycle that most offenders don't WANT to break out of - I am reminded of :

Norman Stanley Fletcher, you have pleaded guilty to the charges brought by this court and it is now my duty to pass sentence. You are an habitual criminal who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner. I therefore feel constrained to sentence you to the maximum term allowed for these offences. You will go to Prison for five years.

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Omah

It's a cycle that most offenders don't WANT to break out of - I am reminded of :

No, if a criminal has committed a crime for whatever reason, and when released they attempt and want to acquire a job and begin building their life back up, they find it extremely difficult due to the 'criminal' label they've been given. That's all people see them as and people like you refuse to give them a second chance, excluding them and as I said, making them join a minority social group. Once they realise that a 'criminal' is all they are seen as, they start to believe it and live up to it, and so commit more crimes, and the cycle continues. Not always, but often.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Jack_

No, if a criminal has committed a crime for whatever reason, and when released they attempt and want to acquire a job and begin building their life back up, they find it extremely difficult due to the 'criminal' label they've been given. That's all people see them as and people like you refuse to give them a second chance, excluding them and as I said, making them join a minority social group. Once they realise that a 'criminal' is all they are seen as, they start to believe it and live up to it, and so commit more crimes, and the cycle continues. Not always, but often.

IMO, that is a naive perspective - in my experience, having been the victim of several crimes and being the friend of many other victims of (frequently violent) crimes, most criminals are mindless thugs with no sense of morality or obligation - so-called "second chances" are so much wasted time and money .....