A KEIGHLEY woman this week became the first in the region to be sentenced to "weekend prison". In other words she pops into some detention centre on a Friday night, and returns home on a Sunday.

What a brilliant idea. She can continue to earn a living, look after her family and yet is denied those weekend treats whatever they may be - from going for a walk in the Dales to throwing vodka down her throat on a Saturday night, who knows? Let's hope she's doing something useful once behind those walls, rather than just lying on a bed all day listening to the radio.

There are financial benefits to society from this kind of "part time" prison. The law abiding citizen already has to pick up the tab for the cost of her crime (victim support, police time, the judicial process) so reducing the much larger bill for the criminal's full time incarceration and ancillary social services costs (children in care, unemployment benefit because of a job loss) is welcome.

There are signs that courts are being encouraged to adopt a more imaginative attitude towards sentencing. There are those who deserve, and need, to be locked up to protect society - a sort of western version of chopping thieves' hands off.

However, a bit more engaging criminals with society and forcing them to put something back in the form of sweeping streets, tidying up eyesores or cutting grass adds far more to society than simply locking people up at great expense and hoping it will "cure" their recidivist tendencies.