Clare Byrne
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Yes, and I think you have to consider his argument against the backdrop of what's actually happening in the UK.
So you've got a significant increase in youth employment, unemployment, young unemployment.
Yeah, you have a significant increase in violence within various categories in youth areas.
And they have an awful case at the moment that has sparked this whole thing about, you know, punishment versus rehabilitation and the debate.
A couple of teenage boys received a non-custodial sentence for two different rapes.
in England, and it sparked an outcry from the families, obviously, of the victims, but also from politicians about youth justice.
And as someone who spends a lot of his time in the courts, I mean, both the district court, the circuit court, central criminal court.
I mean, there's a lot of arguments there about our victims rights and big justice for victims.
Is it really given the weight in society as opposed to the rights of the victim and rehabilitation?
I mean, you have it in the UK, you have it in the United States.
Certainly, there does seem to be a lack of respect, a lack of discipline, a lack of...
understanding of a person's role in society so certainly there's a major educational challenge there but I think it's fair to say that the pendulum has gone from extreme impunishment like you know executing people for stealing an apple 200 years ago to the point now where
You know, maybe there needs to be a greater focus on the punishment side of justice.
No, I think there can be more done and I think the whole view towards this is that, you know, we seem to be willing to spend money on, you know, prisons and
Yeah, pouches to keep their phones off them.
Yeah, but what we're willing to commit to, as Esther mentioned, like the Probation and Welfare Service, like outreach programmes, you know, you'll find that an awful lot of specific areas seem to be the targets for these type of,