Police chief gets tough on killers

Aug 9 2008 by Paul James, The Journal

NORTHUMBRIA police chief Mike Craik yesterday called for life sentences to mean a life in jail for convicted killers. Speaking at the end of a two-week knife amnesty, he backed repeated calls from victims’ groups for mandatory fixed jail terms.

Mr Craik has previously called for people caught carrying knives in public to receive an automatic four years in prison.

But yesterday he said there was no mitigation for using a knife and that those who are given a life sentence for killing should spend the rest of their days behind bars.

His stance was endorsed by families of North East murder victims, who said the Chief Constable was speaking the language of “the overwhelming majority”.

But prison campaigners labelled the comments “ignorant and damaging” and called on police officers to “concentrate on catching people”. The Government defended its current sentencing regime.

Mr Craik said: “If people go out with a knife in their pocket for no legitimate purpose there can be no realistic mitigation if they harm someone.

“You must have picked it up for a purpose. There is no legitimate purpose. The argument you need it for protection is a bogus argument – these are the people who get stabbed the most and those who do the most stabbing.

“There should be a clear sentence of a fixed term, but life should mean life. I don’t support a death penalty, for the obvious reasons. But in the absence of that, life should mean life.”

Last night, Neil Atkinson, of the North East Victims’ Association charity, said: “We are delighted to hear that the Chief Constable has made a statement so in keeping with not only ourselves, but with the overwhelming majority of public opinion.

“Mr Craik is not only speaking our language, but speaking the language of most people in society who are fed up to the back teeth with weak sentencing in this country.”

Grieving father John Johnson, whose son Kevin, 22, was stabbed to death after confronting three yobs outside his Sunderland home in May last year, said Mr Craik’s views were “excellent news”.

Taxi driver Mr Johnson has since launched his ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign against lenient sentencing.

He led a march on Downing Street with a petition bearing 35,000 signatures in June, after teenagers Jordan Towers, Tony Hawkes, and Dean Curtis were given 13, 16 and 17 year jail sentences respectively.

He said: “It’s a pity the Government and the judges don’t think that way and they’re the ones we have to convince.

“The police do a marvellous job catching them and half the time they just get let off by the courts. What we want is life to mean life, when there’s 100% evidence they’ve done it, or even if they admit it. Apart from anything else it would be a deterrent to stop kids putting a knife in their pocket.”

Last night, Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, which campaigns for more community sentences and against prison overcrowding, said the call for life to mean life was both “ignorant and damaging”.

She said: “We have three times the number of people serving life in this country than the whole of Western Europe put together.

“I don’t think British people are more violent – our murder rate is lower than most European countries. We use excessively long sentences for all sorts of people.

“I’m a mother, I’ve been mugged in the street and I don’t want serious violent offenders out on the streets. But our prisons are crammed full of people with mental health problems and drug addicts, who need help.

“Police officers should concentrate on catching people and leave sentencing to people who know more about it.”