Lock 'Em Up and Throw Away the Key

A mandatory “two strikes and you’re out’’ minimum six-month prison sentence for carrying a knife, which was blocked more than a year ago by the Liberal Democrats, is to be finally introduced next week.

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The “two strikes” law will mean that adults convicted of being in possession of a blade for a second time will face a prison sentence between a minimum of six months and a maximum of four years. Young offenders aged 16 and 17 will face a minimum four-month detention and training order.

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The justice ministry estimates that about 1,000 offenders a year will be jailed as a result of the new move, leading to a need for an extra 350 prison places in already overcrowded jails in England and Wales. A further 110 young offenders are expected to be jailed each year under the measure. Combined, this is estimated to add an extra £10m a year to the costs of the criminal justice system.

Officials acknowledge that the “two strikes” sentence is being introduced at a time when the number of adults being sentenced for possession of a knife or an offensive weapon has fallen by 60% since 2008.

Ugh.  Two-strikes.  Mandatory miniumum sentencing.  Why does the UK continue to adopt the most idiotic policies out of the United States, even when those responsible for those policies have gone on the record apologising for the devastation those misguided policies have caused ?

And if we're deciding here that three-strikes à la the US somehow isn't draconian enough, why not one-strike ?  Better yet, why not pass a law, such that if a police-officer finds someone with a knife, they simply execute them on the spot.  I can guarantee there'd be a reduction in knife-crime once that law hit the books.