Government proposes licence to steal

Nice to see that our Government Of All The Thieves is helping the little guy:

Drug-addicted or alcoholic thieves will escape jail from next month if they can prove their crimes are driven by their need for a fix. Instead, they will be given treatment orders or community orders under new rules announced yesterday. Offenders will also get a lesser sentence if they return property they have stolen or if, in 'exceptional circumstances', the courts find they are poverty-stricken and desperate.

The guidelines ... also allow for under-18s who breach their Asbos to be handed a lesser sentence if they can demonstrate they were being influenced by an older or more experienced offender or if they did not 'fully understand' the terms of the order...

Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "Shoplifting is shoplifting, it doesn't matter about what state the offender is in..."*

But a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman insisted: "Community orders with drug rehabilitation requirements offer courts an intensive, demanding and effective way of tackling the drug misuse and offending. They are particularly effective when dealing with the most serious and persistent drug-misusing offenders who commit a high volume of theft."**

* Dinnae ye fret, Mr Alimbritis! The gummint has now offered to bail out all businesses, as called for by that economics guru Dave The Chameleon.

** Yeah, right.