Extra police will be in vain unless we fix justice system
IT’S a sign of how out of touch so much of the political class is that their reaction to Home Secretary Priti Patel’s vow to make criminals “literally feel terror” has been to sneer. The core purpose of government is to guarantee our security. One part of that is economic security. But another part is our security on the streets and in our own home.
Ms Patel understands that – and so too does her boss, Boris Johnson. Yesterday he hailed the “amazing” hero policeman who was horrendously slashed in a machete attack as he protected a female colleague.
Last year there were 30,977 assaults on police officers in England and Wales, which is 85 a day – 5,000 more than in 2018. A report last month found 80 per cent of police officers have been attacked in the past year – with nearly a third needing medical attention.
According to well-sourced reports, Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s key adviser, believes the Government’s campaigning should focus relentlessly on the NHS, immigration – and crime. We’ve already had announcements from Mr Johnson on all three areas and there will be more.
MR JOHNSON has pledged to recruit another 20,000 police officers and on Thursday he promised to make tackling violent crime a priority by, among other things, restoring “power” to the police. He said he will invest in policing, ease restrictions on stop and search and toughen sentencing for offenders who carry knives. That last part is vital.
An extra 20,000 coppers with more powers would definitely be a step in the right direction, but unless we fix the criminal justice system and deliver proper sentences for criminals – unless, to paraphrase the Home Secretary, we put the fear of