Hayley Clayton spent a night in hospital with ten stitches to a serious head wound following an unprovoked attack. Three weeks later police told her they had found the culprit but would not prosecute because ‘it would be a waste of taxpayers’ money’. She was offered £100 and an apology from her attacker or have the offender cautioned by police. She found both offers unacceptable. She didn’t want the money she just wanted justice and the offender punished so she would learn the error of her ways and not go on to hurt somebody else. The compensation offer was increased to £150. She refused the offer. Last year 7,243 criminals with more than ten previous convictions only received a caution or warning for a serious offence. A spokesperson for the Centre for Crime Prevention said, ‘Most police have no confidence that serious repeat offenders will get a proper prison sentence if they go to court, so there is no point in going through all the paperwork.’
Pray: that the Ministry of Justice would clamp down more severely on simple cautions and short cuts to avoid paperwork. Pray for a justice system in which both the public and victims can have confidence. (Dt.27:19)