I suppose it means flogging. It also appeals to a complete lack of logic, because we are told in the Prime Minister's statement that the Government has in recent years increased sentences, increased police numbers, and got tough on gangs. Then we are told that during that period crimes of violence, unlike other crimes, have increased. We are expected to believe that more of the same will reverse the trend. There is no logic in that whatsoever.
Prisons are universities of crime.
The longer people spend in them the more violent they become when they get out. Nearly 80 percent of inmates re-offend within a short time. Keeping them there 3 years longer will not stop that re-offending. Prisons do very little to prepare inmates for a more fulfilling life when they leave and they do nothing at all about offenders making amends to victims, who are the truly forgotten people in the whole law and order debate at this time. Tragically the Government has again missed an opportunity to be bold and innovative, to focus on rehabilitation, motivation, and concern for the victim rather than on revenge with its awful consequences of yet more violence.