Britain's entire criminal justice system is failing us all. Here's why

A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month. I have had a lot of fun with that superstition over the years, mainly when my kids were very young – but not today.

Today marks the first day of Labour Government’s misguided prisoner early release scheme.

And I am convinced by the time you get to read this, somebody who walked free from jail this morning will have reoffended, thereby creating yet another victim of crime.

Should my imaginary victim report crime to the police, then any such early-released prisoner should be on their way back to a prison cell.

The statistics would seem to support me in my fictional writing. We have space in our prisons for around 85,000 criminals. In the last 12 months alone, 51,000 prisoners who had been released were recalled to prison.

Some had breached the conditions of their release, others had failed to comply with probation orders or other restrictions placed upon them by a variety of so-called punishments, and some of them had punched people.

Around 700 prisoners have tasted freedom earlier than they should have today. Another 4,500 will similarly enjoy fresh air, blue skies, and quite possibly a rock of crack or a needle full of heroin in the coming months under this ridiculous scheme.

Ministers will tell you it is vital to release these criminals early to free up prison spaces for the really dangerous lunatics our police bravely challenge and detain. However, to look at this issue in isolation is entirely missing the point, which is that our entire criminal justice system is failing us all.

Today marks the first day of Labour Government’s misguided prisoner early release scheme

PA

Let us start with our police and other law enforcement agencies operating on the front line; they are all underfunded. Consequently, there are not enough of them, and many of their leaders are woke, liberal idiots. I could go on.

Then we have the Crown Prosecution Service, which is lacking funds, lacking talent and often suffers from misguided priorities.

Next, it is our courts. Many sit empty, day after day. Huge modern efficiencies could be implemented if only there was the talent and the political will to do so.

We also need to get rid of judges who are driven by ideology and not impartiality. As for our prisons, well, governments of all political persuasions have manifestly failed us all by not creating enough capacity.

Shame on the lot of them, except we know politicians do not do shame.

And finally, the Probation Service. It has never properly recovered from the pathetic Tory Government decision to privatise it some years ago. It needs more and better trained staff.

You will only attract the right people to this work if you pay them what they deserve. There are lazy probation officers, but proper management would root them out.

I make no apologies for painting such a gloomy picture, but it is the unvarnished truth. We are all in more danger than we used to be because of this crumbling criminal justice system and that is a national scandal.

As a result, the responsibility to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our property now falls upon us. I could write a book about how to prevent becoming a victim of crime, and one day I might just do that.

In the meantime, be aware of your surroundings and what is going on around you. Get that burglar alarm and CCTV system fitted to your home, and add security devices and other measures to your car. And stay safe, please.