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The Judicial System

Conservative & Labour Liberal Democrats
  We would:
  • Establish a Sentencing Advisory Council to review sentencing levels and monitoring current practice.
  • Adopt measures to avoid and rectify serious miscarriages of justice, including the creation of a Public Defender to whom defendants could apply for redress.
  • Reform of the Juvenile Justice system, placing prevention before punishment.
  • Deal with youth crime with proper youth courts.
  • Review and prioritisation of anti-child abuse policies.

 

Facts & Figures.

If there is one thing in the judicial system that badly needs to be reformed, its the need to closely monitor whether or not a judge is able to perform his duties at an acceptable standard. The following statements were made by judges during high profile sexual abuse cases:

  • "Women who say no do not always mean no" and; "If she does’nt want it she only has to keep her legs shut" (Justice wild, 1982).
  • "The trauma suffered by the girl was not so great". A statement made by Justice Leonard in 1987 when referring to a woman raped by two burglars all within hearing distance of her father and boyfriend.
  • Another judge "quite understood" how a father could sexually abuse his daughter while his wife could not perform her conjugal duties while she was pregnant.
  • Judge Starforth Hill (1993) branded an eight year old girl, sexually abused by a grown man as, "no angel".

Questions & Answers.

Q.
Are the Liberal Democrats are soft on crime?.
A.
Unlike the government, the Liberal Democrats are tough and practical. We want policies which catch criminals, not just headlines. We would like to see a police service with the resources that's needed to adequately fight crime.

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[ The Prison System ]

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