Multiland
17-12-2006, 20:53
This is a modified version (based on feedback) of some of my ideas for changing the country of England if I was Prime Minister.
What's your view on these?
Note: Where a number has a letter next to it (eg. '7a'), the letter means 'amendment'. They're just SOME ideas. Please provide reasons for responses, thanks.
Naturally I can't please all of the people all of the time, so whilst all points of feedback have been read and considered, not all ideas have been modified or deleted based on feedback.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
1. Introduce the following sentences for rape:
(a) First offence: 20 years, 10 years for pleading guilty early
(b) Second offence: Life imprisonment
1a. Modify the Sexual Offences Act to define rape as ‘a forced sexual act where person A (the perpetrator) causes person B (the victim) to engage in sexual intercourse with person A against person B’s consent, regardless of the genders of those involved. ‘Sexual intercourse’ to be defined as ‘any act which involves penetration of the vagina or anus with the penis’
1b. Make it no longer illegal for a 16-year-old to have sex with a person who is only a few years younger (will no longer be classed as Statutory Rape if consensual)
1c. Change legislation so that, if new evidence is found, a person can be tried again for the same offence
2. Create a sexual violence awareness campaign (start with one for female victims, then one for male victims)
3. Relax the rules that need to be met before a sexual violence case can go to trial:
(a) No need for two collaborating pieces of evidence
(b) Where a person has claimed to have been raped by their spouse and their spouse admits to sex but claims it was consensual and there is no evidence suggesting the truth or falsity of this, the case must go to trial – otherwise the law against spousal rape become pointless as the accused can simply claim it was consensual and avoid trial in every case
4. Make it easier for victims to report sexual violence and to have a fair trial:
(a) Sexual history to be disallowed (except for previous false accusations)
(b) Jury to be made up of 50% men and 50% women
(c) Foreman of the jury to be selected based on nothing more than impartiality and based on having no previous sexual violence (this definition to include rape) accusations against him/her
(d) Specialist prosecutors to be used
(e) Provide training for a senior member of each police force (who is then to pass it on to the rest of the team) about dealing with sexual violence attacks, to include training relating to both male and female sexual violence
YOUTH-RELATED CRIMES
5. Throwing bricks at a bus will result first in a caution plus a formal warning about what will happen it the incident or a similar incident reoccurs, then one week in a police cell – both to be coupled with a “Knowledge and Action” campaign (KAC) to find out why teenagers are behaving badly and to take action: KAC Headquarters to be informed of all brick-throwing-at-buses-related arrests.
6. Build more police cells
7. Build more prisons
7a. Riding/driving an off-road motor vehicle on the road will result in a formal warning (including notification that a repeat incident will result in the following) then a repeat incident will result in immediate confiscation of the vehicle
7b. Riding/driving on public land, a motor vehicle that has been designed for use on private land, will result in a formal warning (including notification that a repeat incident will result in the following) then a repeat incident will result in immediate confiscation of the vehicle
7c. Deliberate intimidation to result in a caution then community service then a few days in a police cell
7d. Antisocial Behaviour Orders (‘ASBO’s) to be scrapped – they perhaps work brilliantly for the area where they are enforced, but the problem is effectively just moved on to a different area – could be moved on to YOUR area. They are also seen as worthy of ‘street cred’ (but Dispersal Orders to be kept)
HEALTH
8. Consult with the Royal College of Nursing and with individual nurses
9. Provide more funding specifically allocated for specific expenditure (e.g. medical supplies, beds, etc.)
10. Get rid of targets
11. Speak to individual patients about the quality of care received
12. Re-open hospitals, refurbish them
12a Make further decisions based on the above consultations
ENVIRONMENT
13. Set a specific date for companies to only be using as much packaging as is necessary to seal a product and to maintain the freshness of the product
14. ALL forms of energy to be seriously considered, but only the safest environmentally-friendly method will be used – this almost certainly rules out nuclear due to safety issues, but it will still be seriously considered
15. More bicycle lanes to be created
16. All bicycles lanes, where possible, to be separate from bus lanes
17. Recycling bins with clear information to be introduced into every major city
ANIMAL WELFARE
18. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) will be required to investigate every report of animal suffering, unless there is good evidence that the report is a hoax
19. The RSPCA must press for charges (and prosecuted if the person is charged) where a person is discovered to be guilty (or likely to be guilty) of causing animal suffering
20. Maximum sentence for causing animal suffering to be 3 years imprisonment (plus lifetime ban on keeping animals, plus £10,000 fine) and minimum sentence for causing severe suffering to be 1½ years plus lifetime ban on keeping animals plus £500 fine. Breach of a ban to result in further 2 years imprisonment.
21. RSPCA and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and other animal welfare organisations to work more closely together
22. Law to make killing of a healthy animal illegal (currently seems to be legal for certain organisations to kill a healthy animal), save for food which is in common consumption in the UK (beef, pork, etc.) and save for halting severe suffering where medical attention would be unable to do so
23. Extra space required for farm animals
24. Sufficient access to the outside environment required for farm animals, provided in such a way that animals do not have to compete to gain access
25. Illegal to inject animals with drugs unless necessary for medical purposes or for genuine health reasons
26. Foxhunting to be made completely illegal
27. Vegetarian and vegan awareness campaigns, in that order
SOCIAL WELFARE
28. Social Services management to be retrained (who are then to pass the training onto lower-level staff)
29. Social Services around the country must share important information relating to cases of harm and potential cases of harm (in a confidential manner), so long as it does not compromise the safe carrying out of their duties
30. Each care home and foster home to have at least 5 random spontaneous inspections each year, and must include private talks with residents (children / elderly people)
31. Police forces around the country must share important information relating to cases of harm and potential cases of harm (in a confidential manner), so long as it does not compromise the safe carrying out of their duties
32. Police, Social Services, and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to work together
33. More specialist beds to be created for under-16s runaways, plus clear advertising of such places
34. More beds for homeless people in general, plus clear advertising of assistance available to homeless people
35. More beds for those suffering from, or who are at risk from domestic violence – separate facilities for males and females.
36. More gender-specific support for male victims of domestic violence / sexual violence
37. More gender specific support for female victims of sexual violence
GENERAL
38. Where a person is arrested for committing a crime, their mental capacity is to be seriously considered if there is evidence that they have a mental disorder. Where evidence clearly suggests that the crime was committed due to the mental disorder, the sentence is to be reduced to one week imprisonment for serious crimes and Community Service for other crimes. At the discretion of the victim, the perpetrator may receive no punishment whatsoever.
FUNDING: Funding for 27 to be sourced solely from personal income, not taxpayers.
Funding for other numbers to be sourced from:
• Money saved by not introducing an I.D. Card scheme (there is one in Spain, it didn’t prevent the Madrid train attack and there is no real evidence that an I.D. Card does anything more than allows a government to spy on law-abiding citizens – people have sneaked into the UK without I.D., an I.D. Card scheme won’t prevent people sneaking in – and someone who wants to blow people up does not need idea, they simply set off a bomb in a street)
• Lotto Money
• Money diverted from agriculture spending
• Money diverted from defence spending without affecting the UK’s security by bringing troops back from places where they are no longer needed
• Money gained from recovering the majority of the millions of unpaid fines that exist
• Money that is already specifically allocated for each of the above categories – see http://budget2006.treasury.gov.uk/page_09.html
• Personal income
NOTES: The reason for a female-specific sexual violence campaign before a male-specific campaign is because there are still many people who see rape of women as being acceptable in certain circumstances, hence the need for a campaign – however, there are many people who see it as wrong, hence it would likely be a shorter campaign than a male-specific campaign. Once it has been ingrained that rape of females is wrong under any circumstances, a campaign will begin showing the effects of male-on-male and female-on-male rape.
ASBOs do not criminalise behaviour. They are given in response to behaviour that is already criminal, and basically say “do not do this thing that is already illegal or you will be punished for it”. They also move people from one area to another, moving the problem around. If you have suddenly received loads of criminals in your area, there is a good chance they have been moved to your area because of ASBOs banning them from their previous area. They are also seen as a ‘must-have’, a kind of accessory that encourages people to commit crimes.
The benefit to the country for vegetarian and vegan campaigns is valid (but I will not explain as this will likely turn into a for/against vegetarianism/veganism debate) but even if such campaigns would not benefit the country, that is, in my opinion, irrelevant as it would be paid for out of personal funds instead of tax.
I don’t think I’d be able to announce putting taxes up for the rich, as they unfortunately have a lot of power and I would need to become Prime Minister before I could strip them of it, and putting up their taxes alone may mean they refuse to vote for me.
For the purpose of these ideas, ‘police cells’ means the cells in police stations, ‘prisons’ means purpose built prison facilities designed to house people long-term.
What's your view on these?
Note: Where a number has a letter next to it (eg. '7a'), the letter means 'amendment'. They're just SOME ideas. Please provide reasons for responses, thanks.
Naturally I can't please all of the people all of the time, so whilst all points of feedback have been read and considered, not all ideas have been modified or deleted based on feedback.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
1. Introduce the following sentences for rape:
(a) First offence: 20 years, 10 years for pleading guilty early
(b) Second offence: Life imprisonment
1a. Modify the Sexual Offences Act to define rape as ‘a forced sexual act where person A (the perpetrator) causes person B (the victim) to engage in sexual intercourse with person A against person B’s consent, regardless of the genders of those involved. ‘Sexual intercourse’ to be defined as ‘any act which involves penetration of the vagina or anus with the penis’
1b. Make it no longer illegal for a 16-year-old to have sex with a person who is only a few years younger (will no longer be classed as Statutory Rape if consensual)
1c. Change legislation so that, if new evidence is found, a person can be tried again for the same offence
2. Create a sexual violence awareness campaign (start with one for female victims, then one for male victims)
3. Relax the rules that need to be met before a sexual violence case can go to trial:
(a) No need for two collaborating pieces of evidence
(b) Where a person has claimed to have been raped by their spouse and their spouse admits to sex but claims it was consensual and there is no evidence suggesting the truth or falsity of this, the case must go to trial – otherwise the law against spousal rape become pointless as the accused can simply claim it was consensual and avoid trial in every case
4. Make it easier for victims to report sexual violence and to have a fair trial:
(a) Sexual history to be disallowed (except for previous false accusations)
(b) Jury to be made up of 50% men and 50% women
(c) Foreman of the jury to be selected based on nothing more than impartiality and based on having no previous sexual violence (this definition to include rape) accusations against him/her
(d) Specialist prosecutors to be used
(e) Provide training for a senior member of each police force (who is then to pass it on to the rest of the team) about dealing with sexual violence attacks, to include training relating to both male and female sexual violence
YOUTH-RELATED CRIMES
5. Throwing bricks at a bus will result first in a caution plus a formal warning about what will happen it the incident or a similar incident reoccurs, then one week in a police cell – both to be coupled with a “Knowledge and Action” campaign (KAC) to find out why teenagers are behaving badly and to take action: KAC Headquarters to be informed of all brick-throwing-at-buses-related arrests.
6. Build more police cells
7. Build more prisons
7a. Riding/driving an off-road motor vehicle on the road will result in a formal warning (including notification that a repeat incident will result in the following) then a repeat incident will result in immediate confiscation of the vehicle
7b. Riding/driving on public land, a motor vehicle that has been designed for use on private land, will result in a formal warning (including notification that a repeat incident will result in the following) then a repeat incident will result in immediate confiscation of the vehicle
7c. Deliberate intimidation to result in a caution then community service then a few days in a police cell
7d. Antisocial Behaviour Orders (‘ASBO’s) to be scrapped – they perhaps work brilliantly for the area where they are enforced, but the problem is effectively just moved on to a different area – could be moved on to YOUR area. They are also seen as worthy of ‘street cred’ (but Dispersal Orders to be kept)
HEALTH
8. Consult with the Royal College of Nursing and with individual nurses
9. Provide more funding specifically allocated for specific expenditure (e.g. medical supplies, beds, etc.)
10. Get rid of targets
11. Speak to individual patients about the quality of care received
12. Re-open hospitals, refurbish them
12a Make further decisions based on the above consultations
ENVIRONMENT
13. Set a specific date for companies to only be using as much packaging as is necessary to seal a product and to maintain the freshness of the product
14. ALL forms of energy to be seriously considered, but only the safest environmentally-friendly method will be used – this almost certainly rules out nuclear due to safety issues, but it will still be seriously considered
15. More bicycle lanes to be created
16. All bicycles lanes, where possible, to be separate from bus lanes
17. Recycling bins with clear information to be introduced into every major city
ANIMAL WELFARE
18. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) will be required to investigate every report of animal suffering, unless there is good evidence that the report is a hoax
19. The RSPCA must press for charges (and prosecuted if the person is charged) where a person is discovered to be guilty (or likely to be guilty) of causing animal suffering
20. Maximum sentence for causing animal suffering to be 3 years imprisonment (plus lifetime ban on keeping animals, plus £10,000 fine) and minimum sentence for causing severe suffering to be 1½ years plus lifetime ban on keeping animals plus £500 fine. Breach of a ban to result in further 2 years imprisonment.
21. RSPCA and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and other animal welfare organisations to work more closely together
22. Law to make killing of a healthy animal illegal (currently seems to be legal for certain organisations to kill a healthy animal), save for food which is in common consumption in the UK (beef, pork, etc.) and save for halting severe suffering where medical attention would be unable to do so
23. Extra space required for farm animals
24. Sufficient access to the outside environment required for farm animals, provided in such a way that animals do not have to compete to gain access
25. Illegal to inject animals with drugs unless necessary for medical purposes or for genuine health reasons
26. Foxhunting to be made completely illegal
27. Vegetarian and vegan awareness campaigns, in that order
SOCIAL WELFARE
28. Social Services management to be retrained (who are then to pass the training onto lower-level staff)
29. Social Services around the country must share important information relating to cases of harm and potential cases of harm (in a confidential manner), so long as it does not compromise the safe carrying out of their duties
30. Each care home and foster home to have at least 5 random spontaneous inspections each year, and must include private talks with residents (children / elderly people)
31. Police forces around the country must share important information relating to cases of harm and potential cases of harm (in a confidential manner), so long as it does not compromise the safe carrying out of their duties
32. Police, Social Services, and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to work together
33. More specialist beds to be created for under-16s runaways, plus clear advertising of such places
34. More beds for homeless people in general, plus clear advertising of assistance available to homeless people
35. More beds for those suffering from, or who are at risk from domestic violence – separate facilities for males and females.
36. More gender-specific support for male victims of domestic violence / sexual violence
37. More gender specific support for female victims of sexual violence
GENERAL
38. Where a person is arrested for committing a crime, their mental capacity is to be seriously considered if there is evidence that they have a mental disorder. Where evidence clearly suggests that the crime was committed due to the mental disorder, the sentence is to be reduced to one week imprisonment for serious crimes and Community Service for other crimes. At the discretion of the victim, the perpetrator may receive no punishment whatsoever.
FUNDING: Funding for 27 to be sourced solely from personal income, not taxpayers.
Funding for other numbers to be sourced from:
• Money saved by not introducing an I.D. Card scheme (there is one in Spain, it didn’t prevent the Madrid train attack and there is no real evidence that an I.D. Card does anything more than allows a government to spy on law-abiding citizens – people have sneaked into the UK without I.D., an I.D. Card scheme won’t prevent people sneaking in – and someone who wants to blow people up does not need idea, they simply set off a bomb in a street)
• Lotto Money
• Money diverted from agriculture spending
• Money diverted from defence spending without affecting the UK’s security by bringing troops back from places where they are no longer needed
• Money gained from recovering the majority of the millions of unpaid fines that exist
• Money that is already specifically allocated for each of the above categories – see http://budget2006.treasury.gov.uk/page_09.html
• Personal income
NOTES: The reason for a female-specific sexual violence campaign before a male-specific campaign is because there are still many people who see rape of women as being acceptable in certain circumstances, hence the need for a campaign – however, there are many people who see it as wrong, hence it would likely be a shorter campaign than a male-specific campaign. Once it has been ingrained that rape of females is wrong under any circumstances, a campaign will begin showing the effects of male-on-male and female-on-male rape.
ASBOs do not criminalise behaviour. They are given in response to behaviour that is already criminal, and basically say “do not do this thing that is already illegal or you will be punished for it”. They also move people from one area to another, moving the problem around. If you have suddenly received loads of criminals in your area, there is a good chance they have been moved to your area because of ASBOs banning them from their previous area. They are also seen as a ‘must-have’, a kind of accessory that encourages people to commit crimes.
The benefit to the country for vegetarian and vegan campaigns is valid (but I will not explain as this will likely turn into a for/against vegetarianism/veganism debate) but even if such campaigns would not benefit the country, that is, in my opinion, irrelevant as it would be paid for out of personal funds instead of tax.
I don’t think I’d be able to announce putting taxes up for the rich, as they unfortunately have a lot of power and I would need to become Prime Minister before I could strip them of it, and putting up their taxes alone may mean they refuse to vote for me.
For the purpose of these ideas, ‘police cells’ means the cells in police stations, ‘prisons’ means purpose built prison facilities designed to house people long-term.