I understand from someone who works in the probation service that offenders
can (or soon will) have their benefits stopped not just for reoffending but
for breaching the terms of their probation order. This can be as simple a
mistake as arriving 10 minutes late for an appointment or group session.
It seems to me there are a number of fundamental issues here:
1. cutting inadequate benefits below the poverty threshold
2. rough justice without the benefit of due process of law
3. a counter productive measure which is bound to encourage people to thieve
or deal to support themselves
Greg Smith (Research Consultant)
Aston Mansfield CIU
Mayflower Centre
Vincent Street
London E16 1LZ
tel (44) 020 7 474 2255 email [log in to unmask]
web site www.astoncharities.org.uk/research
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Goodman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 1:56 PM
Subject: Benefit sanctions
> I read the Probation Circular 53/2001 with some concern, that in
> four pilot areas, Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Teeside and West
> Midlands, offenders on benefit who reoffend will have their
> benefit reduced for four weeks. As I read it, it will not be for
> probation to decide how much this will be by, and I presume
> conversely that probation will not be able to influence the amount
> either. It could be 20-40% of income support. We can be relieved
> that there are no current plans to extend this to 26 weeks. Will
> this be taken into account by sentencers? It feels very
> discriminatory to me, especially for those who may be on (also
> low) wages and not subject to this sanction. How will the Courts
> reflect this in any fines they may impose? It strikes me as a
> measure even the Tories would not have dared impose? Have
> penal policies from the two parties crossed over and what is the
> difference between them?
>
> This innovation will be assessed, presumeably if found not to
> damage offenders, we can expect to see benefit reduced across
> the board as it must be too generous. This is a logical
> consequence of evidence based practice that locates all the
> problems within the faulty conditioning of the offender and does
> not consider other - dare I use the perjorative word - issues like
> welfare considerations. This is not an attack on evidence based
> practice, but a concern that offenders have a greater degree of
> complexity to their lives than that acknowledged by an approach
> that seeks to use computer generated risk assessments and fixed
> programmes in a social vacuum.
> Tony Goodman
>
>
> Dr Tony Goodman
> Middlesex University
> School of Social Science
> Queensway
> Enfield
> EN3 4SF
> Middlesex
> England
> U.K.
> Telephone +44 (0)208 362 5568
> Fax +44 (0)208 362 5425
> EMail [log in to unmask]
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