Finally... sentences we can get behind

MOST senior politicians run a mile when asked about the outrageously lenient sentences handed down to some violent criminals. They tell you that sentences are a matter for the judiciary; that penal policy should be about reform; that there is a problem with prison overcrowding.

Never, as a rule, do they accept the truth: that sentences for crimes are set by elected politicians in our national parliament; that penal policy has to start with the need to protect the public and to stand up for victims; and that the State’s failure to build enough prison capacity is not a reason to betray victims of violent crime by giving brutal criminals a get-out-of-jailfree card.

How refreshing, therefore, to hear Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan accept that the Oireachtas can and should play a greater role in sentencing policy, rather than trying to hide behind judges – who, in truth, can only hand out the sentences determined by the legislators. And how welcome it will be to victims of violent crime to hear him recognise that maximum penalties for violent crime must not be too lenient.

After all, it is clear that the maximum sentence for any crime will shape the average sentence. Rarely, if ever, is the maximum sentence ever handed down for any crime: rather it sets the outer limit, and judges tend to opt for something that seems a reasonable compromise. If the maximum sentence for a particular crime is set at one year, for example, few judges will ever impose the full year – so the likely sentence will be between three and six months. If the maximum sentence were to be set at 20 years, however, it would be entirely reasonable for a sentence of ten to 15 years to be handed down for most offences within that category.

Not only is Mr O’Callaghan the justice spokesman for the main opposition party: he is also a barrister who has seen the workings of our courts first-hand. He knows of what he speaks. We welcome his principled words on behalf of victims of violent crime, and the massive majority of Irish people who want to see such offences punished properly by our courts. His is a courageous stand – which will not be forgotten.