09/06/05 - Violent Crime, Same Old Labour

There Are Now Over 1 Million Violent Crimes A Year - Under Labour

Yesterday, the Labour Government published its Violent Crime Reduction Bill.

This sort of headline grabbing initiative is a characteristic feature of the Labour government since 1997. First the Government hears the clamour of the tabloids about a problem, then it thinks up a headline grabbing initiative which is then briefed to the newspapers, but by the time the detail is published it is usually dumped or is largely ineffectual. If we are to have any success in dealing with violent crime then we need to tackle the causes of crime; binge drinking, failing communities and drug taking. Until then this sticking plaster approach dooms the Government to failure.

The Violent Crime Reduction Bill will, among other things, introduce limits on the age of people buying knives, introduce new search powers in schools, and bring in new laws on the sale and production of replica firearms.

Labour have had eight years to get a grip on violent crime, yet:

• There are over one million violent crimes every year in England and Wales for the first time.

• Gun crime has doubled under Labour. There is now a gun crime every hour of every day.

• Violent crime has risen by 83 per cent since 1998-9.

• The number of sexual offences is up 44 per cent since 1998-9.

• The British Crime Survey shows that the number of people worried about ‘people being drunk or rowdy in public places’ is up by 10 per cent on the last year, despite the government’s numerous crackdowns on binge drinking and alcohol related violence.

• A child dies every two weeks from a knife attack (Victims of Crime Trust, letter to MPs, 23 February 2005).

• A MORI poll has shown that a quarter of children aged 12 to 16 years admit to having carried a knife and almost one in five says they have attacked someone intending to cause injury (ibid.).

• Stabbings outnumber gun fatalities by three to one (ibid.)

Yesterday’s announcement is the latest in a long line of promises by Mr Blair on crime.

• In 1995, Mr Blair promised that he would be ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ (Party Conference Speech). There are now a million violent crimes a year for the first time ever and violent crime in the 3 months to September 2004 was 10 per cent higher than in the 3 months to September 2003.

• In 1996, Mr Blair promised: ‘We need to continue to crack down on the use of knives and firearms’ (Speech in Southwark, 29 January 1996). Gun crime has doubled since 1998-9.

• In 1997, Mr Blair promised: ‘I make no apology. I back zero tolerance on crime’ (Party Conference Speech). Under Mr Blair fewer than one in four crimes are cleared up by the police.

• In 1998, Mr Blair’s Home Secretary promised: ‘We must make a serious reduction in serious crime’ (Party Conference Speech). There were a third more knife-related murders in 2003-4 than in 1998-9.

• In 2000, Mr Blair promised: ‘Crime figures are the measure of whether this Government is succeeding or failing’ (The Daily Telegraph, 7 December 2000). Overall recorded crime has gone up by 16 per cent since 1998-9.

• In 2002, Mr Blair promised: ‘Street crime and social disintegration in parts of the inner city are a menace we must tackle quickly’ (LSE Speech, 12 March 2002). Robberies have gone up by more than a half since 1998-9.

• In 2003, Mr Blair promised: ‘We have actually got to have zero tolerance even of the low level crime in order to tackle, the crimes that are more serious’ (GMTV, 4 December 2003).

Fewer than half of all violent crimes are cleared up today – compared to almost two-thirds when Michael Howard was Home Secretary.

• In 2004, Mr Blair promised: ‘As a society we have to make sure that this form of what we often call binge-drinking doesn't become a new sort of British disease’ (Daily Mail, 20 May 2004). Half of all violent crime is alcohol-related, yet Mr Blair wants to make binge drinking worse by introducing 24-hour pub opening.

Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats would abolish mandatory life sentences for murder and serious sexual offences, would not send shoplifters or burglars to prison and would give prisoners the right to vote. Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat Home Office Spokesman, has said: ‘I'm absolutely convinced that prison is a complete and utter waste of time’ (BBC Radio 4, 9 November 2003).

And Simon Hughes, their President, has said: ‘Liberal Democrats have always been clear that there should never be mandatory sentences (Hansard, 13 January 2002, Col. 433). They favour giving prisoners the right to vote (Liberal Democrat Policy Paper 51, Justice and the Community, June 2002, p.49) and want prison to be used ‘only as a last resort’ (Liberal Democrat Policy Paper 51, Justice and the Community, June 2002, p.6).

Conservatives Councillor Justin Tomlinson, "This is typical of this failing Labour Government, there answer to any problem is to announce another series of promises which are soon forgotten.  Local residents are fed up of Labour's endless talk, we want to see action.  There are no excuses for 1 million violent crimes every year, it is simply unacceptable.