Crime fightback starts with brave Lissie’s law
GOOD CAN come out of even the darkest acts of evil. In a major advance for British justice, the Government plans to enshrine a law imposing mandatory life sentences on the killers of emergency workers.
Powerfully backed by this newspaper, the welcome change in legislation is the result of a heroic campaign led by Lissie Harper, the widow of PC Andrew Harper who was dragged to his death behind a getaway car by three thugs while investigating a burglary in 2019.
What drove Mrs Harper was her righteous indignation at the lenient jail terms handed to his killers.
It must be hoped her achievement will not only provide more protection for those on the frontline but will be the catalyst for a tougher approach towards crime at every level of society.
The sorry truth is that far too many offenders are able to act with impunity because of the weakness of our authorities, which are failing in their responsibilities to uphold order and protect the vulnerable.
As bullies triumph, the fabric of civilisation is fraying. Its restoration will require that moral selfconfidence replaces the current spirit of defeatism and cowardice. Although some new statutes, such as Mrs Harper’s measure, are necessary, by far the biggest task is to enforce the ones we already have.
Indeed, the reluctance by the state to uphold the existing law has created a crisis of legitimacy in modern Britain, where faith in the justice system is collapsing and crime goes unpunished.
The consequences of this breakdown are shocking.
Criminals have never had it so easy. Nine out of every 10 recorded offences do not lead to any charge. That applies even to serious crimes such as rape, with just one in 60 cases resulting in a prosecution. In the same vein, just 6.8 per cent of all reported crimes involving violence end up in court action.
And only this week, an analysis by the Daily Express revealed that two in three burglary investigations are closed before any thief is found.
Without any vote from the public, drug use is being effectively decriminalised by inaction from the police and courts – 42 per cent of those caught in possession of cannabis are let off with a meaningless “community resolution”.
In another indicator of institutional retreat, Durham University Students Union offers training and support for “sex workers”, even though the industry is both illicit and exploitative.
The tragedy of migrant deaths in the Channel might not have occurred if enforcement agencies
had actually maintained the law by smashing the trafficking gangs and deterring illegal journeys.
The same sense of paralysed helplessness can be seen in the feeble approach to the Insulate Britain eco-fanatics who have been holding motorists to ransom for weeks.
Nor is the law enforced rigorously against those who abuse the welfare system, where fraud costs more than £8.5billion-a-year, just as the NHS is hopeless at collecting payments from an army of overseas visitors who use its facilities.
There is nothing compassionate about a civic culture that refuses to uphold its own rules. On the contrary, such neglect is a recipe for decadence and destruction. The inspiring example of Lissie Harper must herald a change in direction.