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Case Study 2 - Del and Rod
Del, 20, and Rod, 18, were arrested for spray painting murals on trains, stations and other railway property. They were caught when British Transport Police found images of their work on websites which they used to trace their email addresses. Between them they had caused £13,000 worth of damage.
They were sentenced for 15 months and 12 months respectively for vandalising railway property and were sent to a young offenders institute. They were also both given five-year Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs).
Before being sentenced, Del had worked in over 50 youth centres and schools holding graffiti art workshops, conveying messages through art, working on issues from gun crime, racism, bullying, healthy eating and drugs.
In the week that they were sent to prison, Rod was also due to start university.
The judge who sentenced the pair admitted they were "decent" but insisted their behaviour should be punished as a deterrent. He said: "This conduct has caused an unpleasant nuisance as well as disruption and expense. You are decent people who have a talent, but those who scar railways and other people's property have to be deterred. This kind of behaviour is carried out for self-indulgent gratification."
Rod's mother said, “What they've done is against the law but the punishment should fit the crime. We offered to pay for the damage just to keep them out of prison, so that my son could go to university which he should have started this week. The British Transport Police just dismissed it.”
Questions for discussion:
· Do you think this was the right sentence? If not, what sentence should they have been given?
· What do you think of what the judge said – do you agree or disagree?
· What do you think of what Rod’s mother said – do you agree or disagree?
What happened?
After two months in prison the sentences were overturned. The judges at the Court of Appeal decided each should receive a two-year conditional discharge and said they should never have gone to prison in the first place. The "positive features" in their cases should also have persuaded the original trial judge a community sentence was the appropriate punishment.
Five-year Asbos were also quashed as the judges said the Asbos were "inappropriate" because the graffiti was not threatening or offensive.
Del said "I spent months sitting in a prison cell doing nothing costing the tax payer thousands - when instead I could have been doing compulsory work in the community as my punishment. This is far more use to the local area, and to other young offenders - who could be intimidated to learn new crimes from violent and much more serious offenders, rather than learning new skills to help them find a job when they have finished their sentence."
Questions for discussion:
· Do you think it was right or wrong that the sentence was overturned? · What do you think about the Asbos? · What do you think of what Del said about being in prison?
Useful facts:
· The re-offending rate for people released from prison is 64.7% for adults and 72.6% for children. The reoffending rates for those on community sentences 50.5%. Community sentences can include unpaid work in the community and treatment for mental health problems or addictions.
· There around 12,500 under 21s locked up in England and Wales. 3,000 of them are under 18.
· The number of 15 to 17 year olds in prison has doubled in the last 10 years, and in this country we lock up more young people per head than anywhere else in Europe.
· You can be locked up as young as 10 in England and Wales - the lowest age for criminal responsibility in Europe, except for Scotland, where it is 8 years old.
· Almost half the children in prison have been convicted of non-violent offences. More children are in prison for robbery than any other offence.
· Reconviction rates are extremely high for young people. Over eight out of ten boys under 18 who were released from prison were reconvicted within two years.
· It costs £50,800 per year to send someone to a young offenders institution.
· 29 children have died in state custody since 1990, most committed suicide but one following restraint.
Del, 20, and Rod, 18, were arrested for spray painting murals on trains, stations and other railway property. They were caught when British Transport Police found images of their work on websites which they used to trace their email addresses. Between them they had caused £13,000 worth of damage.
They were sentenced for 15 months and 12 months respectively for vandalising railway property and were sent to a young offenders institute. They were also both given five-year Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs).
Before being sentenced, Del had worked in over 50 youth centres and schools holding graffiti art workshops, conveying messages through art, working on issues from gun crime, racism, bullying, healthy eating and drugs.
In the week that they were sent to prison, Rod was also due to start university.
The judge who sentenced the pair admitted they were "decent" but insisted their behaviour should be punished as a deterrent. He said: "This conduct has caused an unpleasant nuisance as well as disruption and expense. You are decent people who have a talent, but those who scar railways and other people's property have to be deterred. This kind of behaviour is carried out for self-indulgent gratification."
Rod's mother said, “What they've done is against the law but the punishment should fit the crime. We offered to pay for the damage just to keep them out of prison, so that my son could go to university which he should have started this week. The British Transport Police just dismissed it.”
Questions for discussion:
· Do you think this was the right sentence? If not, what sentence should they have been given?
· What do you think of what the judge said – do you agree or disagree?
· What do you think of what Rod’s mother said – do you agree or disagree?
What happened?
After two months in prison the sentences were overturned. The judges at the Court of Appeal decided each should receive a two-year conditional discharge and said they should never have gone to prison in the first place. The "positive features" in their cases should also have persuaded the original trial judge a community sentence was the appropriate punishment.
Five-year Asbos were also quashed as the judges said the Asbos were "inappropriate" because the graffiti was not threatening or offensive.
Del said "I spent months sitting in a prison cell doing nothing costing the tax payer thousands - when instead I could have been doing compulsory work in the community as my punishment. This is far more use to the local area, and to other young offenders - who could be intimidated to learn new crimes from violent and much more serious offenders, rather than learning new skills to help them find a job when they have finished their sentence."
Questions for discussion:
· Do you think it was right or wrong that the sentence was overturned? · What do you think about the Asbos? · What do you think of what Del said about being in prison?
Useful facts:
· The re-offending rate for people released from prison is 64.7% for adults and 72.6% for children. The reoffending rates for those on community sentences 50.5%. Community sentences can include unpaid work in the community and treatment for mental health problems or addictions.
· There around 12,500 under 21s locked up in England and Wales. 3,000 of them are under 18.
· The number of 15 to 17 year olds in prison has doubled in the last 10 years, and in this country we lock up more young people per head than anywhere else in Europe.
· You can be locked up as young as 10 in England and Wales - the lowest age for criminal responsibility in Europe, except for Scotland, where it is 8 years old.
· Almost half the children in prison have been convicted of non-violent offences. More children are in prison for robbery than any other offence.
· Reconviction rates are extremely high for young people. Over eight out of ten boys under 18 who were released from prison were reconvicted within two years.
· It costs £50,800 per year to send someone to a young offenders institution.
· 29 children have died in state custody since 1990, most committed suicide but one following restraint.
