Star comment: Too lenient on benefits fraudsters
We make absolutely no apologies for returning to the issue of our woefully inadequate criminal justice system.
Time and time again on the pages of this newspaper we have called into question how our courts deal with those who break the law.
All too often, a guilty admission or verdict is met with a sentence that would appear to be excessively lenient in the eyes of the vast majority of law-abiding citizens.
The case of benefits cheat Linda Hoey is a prime example.
Hoey spent years abusing the benefits system. By exaggerating her care and mobility needs she was able to steal almost £81,000 from the public purse.
The mother-of-four was also given a regularly updated car free of charge.
Hoey, who lied that she would be housebound without the help of her husband, was even allowed to travel on the M6 Toll for free as she claimed the highest level of Disability Living Allowance.
The 58-year-old refused to admit any guilt on her part, despite the overwhelming evidence provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.
This was criminal activity that went on for well over a decade, costing the taxpayer a fortune.
In court Recorder Michael Elsom pulled no punches in his assessment of Hoey’s criminal behaviour, branding her a liar and criticising her for failing to show any remorse.
At no time has the defendant made any attempts to pay back even a small amount of the money.
Yet she will not spend a single day behind bars for her crime, after her 18-month prison sentence was suspended for two years.
This sentence will rightly be seen as an affront to hard working taxpayers.
Benefits cheats cost this country’s economy £1.3 billion a year, and the problem is getting worse.
There are two forms of deterrent. Those who are guilty of cheating the system must be made to pay back every penny that they have stolen.
And just as importantly, they must be made to spend a period of time behind bars.
Suspended sentences have become the backup plan of our criminal justice system, which often seems reluctant to lock people up due to overcrowding in our jails. The solution is simple. Build more prisons.
