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  There is a tendency towards 'knee-jerk' reactions towards sentencing that will never work in all cases.
  One is to consider the effects on the perpetrator of incarceration while the other is to assume all criminals should be locked up forever. Both sides place the problem on 'society' and the effects the person will have on it. The most important consideration is too often forgotten and that is the victims.
  
  Before any concern about the possible effects of punishment on the guilty are raised consideration should be given to the effects the crime has had on the victims of that crime. What can sometimes be presented in court as 'a prank gone wrong' or a 'misguided act on the spur of the moment' has the potential to wreck lives, destroy relationships and leave permanent scares on the victims.
  
  "I might have turned over a few houses but I've also knocked-up my girlfriend" is not an excuse and should never be taken as one. Custodial sentences are not always the answer but suspended sentences seldom are. A guilty verdict owes it to the victims to punish the guilty and community service goes a long way towards showing the guilty that they need to work at repairing the damage they do.

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