Well its a start

[Guest pelmetman]

Although I'd prefer a length of Chatham hemp and a long drop......But why only people who murder policemen? :-S..............

 

 

Criminals who kill police officers in England and Wales will face compulsory whole life sentences, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced.

 

She unveiled plans for a change in legislation at the Police Federation conference in Bournemouth.

 

The current minimum sentence for a police murder is 30 years.

 

The Police Federation said: "We support any move that means a true life sentence will be applied to anyone who murders a police officer."

 

Mrs May announced that the government is to propose that the minimum term should be increased to life without parole.

 

Analysis

Danny Shaw

BBC home affairs correspondent

Theresa May's whole life tariff for police murderers is being welcomed by rank-and-file officers - but it's unlikely to quell the anger felt by Police Federation members about the government's programme of cuts and reforms to the service.

 

High on their list of concerns is an idea, currently the subject of negotiation, which would allow chief constables to make police compulsorily redundant.

 

Officers say chiefs could get rid of officers they don't like or those approaching pension age - and with no industrial rights there'd be nothing police could do about it.

 

A final decision on whether the home secretary will go ahead is expected in the summer. The federation would no doubt toast Mrs May if she abandoned the whole idea.

 

The home secretary told rank-and-file officers the murder of a police officer was "a particularly appalling crime".

 

"To attack and kill a police officer is to attack the fundamental basis of our society," she said.

 

"We ask police officers to keep us safe by confronting and stopping violent criminals for us. We ask them to take risks so that we don't have to.

 

"And sometimes you are targeted by criminals because of what you represent."

 

She added: "We are clear - life should mean life for anyone convicted of killing a police officer."

 

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 permits Justice Secretary Chris Grayling - following consultation with the Sentencing Council - to make an order to change starting points.

 

This would permit him to change the starting point in this instance from 30 years to a whole life order, meaning offenders could not be released other than at the discretion of the secretary of state on compassionate grounds - for example, if they are terminally ill or seriously incapacitated.

 

'Severe penalty'

The Sentencing Council, the official body that oversees sentencing in England and Wales, issues guidelines for judges and magistrates to work to for all offences other than murder.

 

A spokesman said: "Introducing whole life tariffs for those who murder police officers would involve changes to the law, which is a matter for Parliament, rather than the Sentencing Council."

 

 

The killing of a police officer is a particularly heinous crime that should be punished with the severest possible sentences”

 

Shadow policing minister David Hanson

But he confirmed that the government had a duty to consult with the council before new legislation could be brought in.

 

The Sentencing Council says that, as things stand, whole life orders can be imposed in murder cases "if the court decides that the offence is so serious that the offender should spend the rest of their life in prison".

 

There are currently 47 prisoners in England and Wales who have been given whole life tariffs, including Rosemary West and "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe.

 

Police Federation chairman Steve Williams said: "The public need to have confidence that the criminal sentence they read about in the paper is the sentence the offender completes.

 

"There is no hierarchy when it comes to victims of murder, however police officers risk their lives on a daily basis confronting danger on behalf of others.

 

"Would-be offenders must know that they will receive the most severe penalty possible."

 

Shadow policing minister David Hanson, meanwhile, said: "The killing of a police officer is a particularly heinous crime that should be punished with the severest possible sentences."

 

"We will support any efforts to achieve that aim," he added.

 

Mrs May, who will face a question and answer session after her speech, was heckled at last year's conference after she told officers to "stop pretending" they were being singled out and would "have to make their share" of public spending cuts.

 

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor, who is behind hotly debated changes such as fast-track recruitment and lower annual pay for new constables, will also address officers.

 

On Tuesday, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told the three-day conference that government plans to withdraw from the European Arrest Warrant agreement would make it harder to catch criminals who went on the run abroad.

[RogerC]

IMO the whole system of 'tariffs' for convicts is completely wrong.  From reading the press, talking to people and comments on forums it is obvious that the majority of the public are fed up with sentences not being applied properly.  Why should a life sentence carry a stipulation from a Judge that the convict should serve a 'minimum of x years'......life should mean life.  For example Chris Huhne and his 'sidekick' have just been released after serving just 2 months of an 8 month sentence.........why why why?  It is all wrong..........the justice system is not serving or protecting the public with these ridiculous practices.

 

As for life meaning life for murdering a police officer or prison officer, yes they are likely to be more 'in harms way' in the course of their duties but murder is murder and life should mean life regardless of who is murdered.