Gamekeeper Turns Poacher

The story of the week has to be the senior judge in England and Wales going under cover as a convicted criminal in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of community service. He gave an exclusive interview to the Observer to describe his experiences. A reality television series based on the concept (possibly featuring Boy George) is surely only a few weeks away. Or has this already been done by Channel Five?

Not unusually, however, the press coverage ended up revealing more about the media itself than about the criminal justice system. For instance, it is remarkable that what is supposedly the most left-wing newspaper in the country can describe the viewpoint that torture is always wrong as 'controversial'. More amusing but no less disturbing is the fact that his colleagues in punishment read the Sun, a newspaper that would probably refer to them as 'scum' and demand that they be locked up for a very long time. The European Court of Human Rights recently gave British prisoners the vote, hoping that it would give them a part in the democratic process, and ensure that they have a say about the way that they are treated by the state. However, there is little point in giving turkeys the vote if they are just going to vote for Christmas. Let's hope that they just read the Sun for the pictures.