Thread by @BarristerSecret

I’m not even angry. Just resigned to the predictability; the sheer dearth of imagination in this brain trust of the intellectually damned. All they ever have to say on criminal justice - the only answer they can ever think of - is “longer sentences”.

We deserve so much better.

https://twitter.com/edwardmalnick/status/1271908334103388161

We already have an offence of criminal damage. Where damage is caused to a value of over £5,000, the maximum sentence is already 10 years.

This proposal seeks to increase the sentence for low-value criminal damage where the target is a statue.

A statue.

There are so many problems with criminal justice. The system is close to collapse - the courts are backlogged, trials are delayed for years and lack of resources often cause cases to collapse.

A serious government could do so much to improve it. But these people are not serious.

MP @JEGullis tells The Telegraph, unchallenged and repeated uncritically, that “it is incredibly hard to prosecute” offences of criminal damage.

CPS statistics for 2018/19 suggest conviction rates across the country between 75% and 95%.

I’d welcome Mr Gullis’ evidence.

It may be that @JEGullis has collated statistics showing that there is a specific difficulty with the CPS charging or securing convictions for criminal damage against statutes.

But I fear he is confusing “difficult to prosecute” with “I want longer sentences”.

To put this in context, MPs and ministers want to give low-value damage to a statue a higher maximum sentence than:

- dangerous driving
- assault occasioning actual bodily harm
- inflicting GBH
- controlling & coercive behaviour
- affray
- violent disorder
- voyeurism
- theft