No, that is not what the Cabinet Secretary for Justice is proposing. I take the view that

"There are too many people now in our prisons who shouldn't be. We must ensure they are not full of less serious offenders whose behaviour could be better addressed through tough community sentences.

Reducing this churn of short-term prisoners will ensure time and resources can be better focused on tackling more serious offenders."

Those were the words of the previous Minister for Justice, Cathy Jamieson, on 31 October 2006. For many people across politics, across society and across political parties, that is sound common sense, and this Administration will seek to implement it in a way that the previous Administration failed to do.