Legal expert and theft victim debate jail terms
Thieves and fraudsters should receive community sentences and fines, rather than face prison, a legal expert has told the BBC.
Professor Andrew Ashworth told BBC Radio 5 live's Phil Williams that jail should be reserved for offenders who commit crimes of a violent, sexual or threatening nature - a move which he says would be "more proportionate and more constructive."
However Tim Brayford, who last year had £2,000 of power tools stolen from his property, is concerned that victims are being sidelined, after one of the perpetrators was sent on a "thinking course".
14 Aug 2013
- From the section UK