Guardian reports research says longer sentences reduce offending rates in some crimes.

Civitas aren't exactly 'independent', but Birmingham University is a decent outfit, not full of 'renta-report' academics. And The Guardian isn't exactly likely to give prominent coverage to what appears on the face of it to be a right-wing conclusion unless the background was sound. So I don't know quite how much to make of it.

Jon

I'd want to read the actual report before passing comment, but at first glance my reaction was largely similar to this:



It would be interesting to see whether longer sentencing actually had more of a deterrent effect.

' "The effect of prison on reducing crime has never been proven and this research falls short of doing so," Neilson said. "There are numerous international examples of jurisdictions which have experienced both falls in crime and falls in prison numbers.'

So? The Odyssey Complex (arena, cinema, clubs) in Belfast probably single-handedly affects the PSNI's annual crime figures, so I can imagine what the rest of the UK might be dealing with.