Land Fit for Criminals

For twenty-six years David Fraser served in what is now the National Probation Service, both in the field and as a senior probation officer. He worked in several busy Inner London court areas, as well as in different prisons in the capital and the south-west. He also worked for almost a decade as a Criminal Intelligence Analyst with the National Criminal Intelligence Service, (which is now the National Crime Agency). He has been researching and writing about crime and sentencing policy in England and Wales since the 1980s. He has lectured to a wide variety of audiences in Britain and New Zealand and has had numerous articles published in a variety of justice journals. The first of his three published books, A Land Fit for Criminals, was recommended for the George Orwell Prize in Literature. It provoked wide interest in this country and abroad and was commended to the House of Commons during a speech by an MP. He has given evidence to three All Party Parliamentary Committees investigating sentencing and prisons. Licence to Kill: Britain's Surrender to Violence is the result of six years of considered research and involvement with the criminal justice system. David Fraser is married with two grown-up children and two grandchildren and lives with his wife in the south-west of England.

• Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; Author's Note; Explanation of Terms; Introduction: Under Crime's Lengthening Shadow; A Lost World; The Retreat from Reality; The Undeclared Propaganda War; A Review of a Dysfunctional System; Prisons: British Errors and American Enlightenment; Failure, Deception and Cover-up; The Research Confidence Trick; The Persistent Offender; Subversion, Defeat and Statistics of Terror; If You Value Peace, Guard Justice; All the King's Men; Human Rights and Wrongs; Let the Victims Speak; Dampening the Flames of Protest; Stepping Back from the Brink; Epilogue; Notes; References; Index;

'A powerful "wakeup" call which British at all levels can afford to ignore at their peril.' The Commonwealth Lawyer; 'Fraser argues that the public have been consistently hoodwinked over the true nature of government policy on crime and punishment. In a detailed analysis, he claims that successive governments have talked tough on crime but acted soft.' Sunday Times; 'A unique insight into the corrupt sentencing polices of the current criminal justice system ... exposes the false propaganda endlessly churned out ... David rules predominantly on facts rather than his personal opinions, readers will be appalled.' Peter Coad, Director, Criminal Justice Association; 'A devastating critique (and) startling insider's account of the deception being played upon the public.' Daily Mail; 'David Fraser offers a fundamental challenge to the UK's approach to crime and punishment. He rigorous;y debunks the perceived success of community supervision orders and the "myth" that prison doesn't work.' Public Sector Management magazine; 'David Fraser's book exposes the deceit of Government and Home Office statistics and pronouncements ... This book will change perceptions about crime and punishment in this country for ever.' His Honour Keith Matthewman, QC, Circuit Judge, Midland and Oxford Circuit, 1983-2001; 'David Fraser's very throughly researched book is an essential corrective to the torrent of misinformation, falsehoods and outright lies which dominate the debate about prisons ... This book is essential reading for anyone trying to understand what needs to be done to reduce the rate at which crimes are committed in Britain.' Alasdair Palmer, Public Policy Editor, Sunday Telegraph