There are many reasons why a guilty defendant may receive a light sentence. It could be that he is a man of previous good character who uncharacteristically fell foul of the law, it could be due to the skill, eloquence and persuasive argument of his lawyer or occasionally it could be that the judge in his case was completely bonkers. Such a case arose in Cleveland last week.

Whilst sentencing convicted burglar and serial offender, Richard Rochford,  His Honour Judge Peter Bowers stated that “It takes a huge amount of courage, as far as I can see, to burgle someone’s home. I wouldn’t have the nerve”. He then declined to impose upon Rochford the prison sentence his behaviour merited (and which any rational judge would have ordered) and instead gave the former jailbird a community service order.

Of course, there has been uproar following this ludricous pronouncement and it is to be hoped that when His Honour is tracked down on the Planet Zog, or wherever it is he resides, his superiors ensure that he no longer graces the Bench with his presence.

It’s sometimes difficult not to despair of our legal system. Our demoralised and poorly led police force, suffocating under the weight of unnecessary bureaucracy and form filling, often struggle to bring criminals to justice and even when they do, they find themselves hampered by a system that often favours the criminal over the victim. They find their good work torn to pieces by smart-alec defence lawyers and even if they manage to obtain a conviction they watch defendants walk away relatively free, openly  laughing at the weakness of the courts.

This country seems to be a defendant’s paradise, unless, of course,  you happen to be a motorist.