Far right party Azzjoni Nazzjonali yesterday branded the government “an accomplice to crime”, referring to recidivists who had relapsed and committed crimes without being significantly punished.
Referring to the involuntary murder of cyclist Clifford Micallef earlier last week, the right-wing party said “a cursory study of publicly reported criminal activity reveals a significant amount of the cases are committee by recidivists, cases which would have been entirely avoided had the offender received the appropriate sentencing in the first case.”
“Every time a recidivist offends again, Azzjoni Nazzjonali holds the State equally responsible for the crime and those who have decided to let the criminal off lightly as accomplices. They should be held to account along with the offender.”
It said politicians and the intelligentsia’s “liberal dogma” ensured that criminals get handled with kid gloves.
“Azzjoni Nazzjonali does not subscribe to the notion that the primary role of justice is to ‘reform’ the criminal – but on the contrary it is there to ensure that innocent citizens are safe from criminals and delinquents, and to see that innocent citizens are compensated when they fall victim to them. A secondary role of justice is to be seen to be served and to act as deterrent,” the party said in a statement.
AN said criminals and delinquents cannot reform without accepting and serving a just sentence. “Whilst serving his sentence, the offender should be made to work to compensate his victims directly. Making society pay the compensation on the offender’s behalf is yet a further miscarriage of justice – indeed it goes against the very fundamentals of justice which demands that the innocent should not pay for the mistakes of others.”
AN called for harsher sentencing, and if necessary, to build as many prisons as necessary. “The only alternative to that is for honest citizens to become prisoners in their own homes.”
AN added that the root of rising crime and loutish behaviour was the failure of state education. “Azzjoni Nazzjonali urges the return of real discipline in our schools… the time has come for society to engage in a mature debate the merits of a compulsory national service might as a means of instilling those life skills and values which are becoming worryingly ever scarce.”
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