My most recent post on the crime figures elicited a few responses, so I thought it might be helpful just to set out what the Conservatives will do. A blog is about commenting on what is happening – so it’s never meant to be an essay on policy prescriptions, but I think people are right to point out that the police are never there when you need them. That is the fundamental that needs tackling.
In addition, we need to consider two things. Firstly, the balance of crimes committed by first-time offenders and repeat offenders. We need to come down hard on first-time offenders – not just issue a caution. That way, we stop their involvement in misdemeanours increasing. Those who are frequent offenders need to be both punished and rehabilitated. That means ensuring that the time they spend in prison is spent wisely - improving literacy skills, for example, to help them get meaningful jobs on the outside.
- We will scrap the stop and account and the stop and search forms
- We will strengthen police powers of stop and search to enable officers to respond decisively to incidents or threats of serious crime
We will take our reforms further by empowering local people as well as police officers. By introducing directly-elected police commissioners, and by requiring all police forces to publish crime maps and hold quarterly beat meetings, we will enable local communities to hold their police force to account.
We cannot tackle crime unless we also address the causes of crime, such as family breakdown, drug abuse and binge drinking. But the fight back starts with getting more police officers back on to the streets. Only then can we begin to rebuild the safer communities we all want.
Hello, and thanks for visiting my site! As the Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, my job is to serve the interests of my constituents and represent their concerns in Westminster. Hopefully, my website will bring you a little bit closer to what is happening and how you can get involved. Find out about where I stand on the things that affect us locally and how you can share your thoughts with me by using the links at the top of the page. I look forward to hearing from you!
July 12th, 2010 at 10:20 am
If we give the police more powers, who will monite them. If it is the IPPC this is still the police monitering the police and from personal recent contact with them, I certainly did not find them unbiased.
I am a 69year old Lady