(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - According to the sources close to the government, figures show that the number of prisoners in England and Wales has risen by 700 in the last week to 86,608.
Eoin McLennan-Murray, president of the Prison Governors Association, insisted that there are 1,500 empty prison places, but "What is worrying is if the landscape of sentencing has changed. If the courts continue to be heavy-handed with other offences and use custody more readily than they have done previously then that would be problematic longer term."
Figures revealed that some 3,000 have been arrested, and over one-thousand three-hundred people have appeared in court accused of violence and public disorder related to the recent unrests, and due to the courts' harsh sentences two-thirds have remained in custody.
The director of campaigns for the Howard League for Penal Reform, Andrew Neilson, criticized the judges for rushing to inform the public over the punishments of those involved in disturbances, believing it led to “some very bad sentences, which will be overturned on appeal.”
Leading criminal barrister John Cooper QC warned that the judges and magistrates must not “be influenced by angry Britain," he considered some of the sentences as "disproportionate and somewhat hysterical.”
“It was not the job of judges to deliver a political message on behalf of the government, when passing sentence but part of their role was to identify serious aggravating features that elevate the crime beyond the ordinary,” he added.
Lord Carlile, former Liberal Democrat MP who served for ten years as the British government's independent anti-terror adviser, accused cabinet ministers of attempting to steer the courts into passing irrational sentences.
"I don't think it's helpful for ministers to appear to be giving a steer to judges. The judges in criminal courts are mostly extremely experienced and well capable of making the decisions themselves. Ministers should focus on securing the safety of the public," he said.
Premier David Cameron defended the tough penalties, saying: “What happened on our streets was absolutely appalling behaviour and to send a very clear message that it's wrong and won't be tolerated is what the criminal justice system should be doing.
“They decided in that court to send a tough sentence, send a tough message and I think it's very good that courts are able to do that.”
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