Coun Tony Dobson

Conservative Group leader

FIRST of all I just wanted to take this opportunity on behalf of the Conservative Group to wish you and your family all the very best for 2019 and hope it is a peaceful and prosperous year for you.

In previous columns I’ve written about my concern over rising crime and antisocial behaviour levels in our town.

I also see from postings on Facebook the frustration that local residents have with the system and the almost conveyor belt-like behaviour of people who do not want to make a positive contribution to our community.

For me personally, the system and its priorities are all completely wrong when you take into account the cost and the social impact of let’s say a shop robbery: the damage that has to be repaired; the cost of the stock or money that is stolen; the cost to the taxpayer for the police to investigate, the cost to put that person before the courts; the impact on the shopkeeper which may mean that they have to close down; the health impact on the person who has been robbed; the anxiety because of the incident.

The cost of this is thousands and we currently have a conveyor belt of offenders that need dealing with once and for all.

I recently asked our police inspector if I wanted to reduce crime in Hyndburn by 80 per cent how many people would you have to deal with to get that reduction. The answer was 25.

So 25 people are causing 80pc of the crime in Hyndburn. Ridiculous when you think about it in such simple terms but the facts are the facts.

So the system doesn’t work and my own personal view is that it should be changed.

In my opinion these 25 people should be in a special work programme to keep them occupied, to create focus, to give them some skills to keep them off the streets, to contribute back to society in a positive way and they should be paid on a daily basis as they are leaving the project.

Now you may say ‘what jobs would you give them?’. For me our parks can always be better, our streets can always be tidier and so on.

If you don’t adhere to the rules of the programme then, for me, you’ve got to be instantly into three strikes and you’re out.

Out would mean 15 years in prison, where you have to work every day to pay for your upkeep. Every day you don’t work is another day on your sentence.

That you take part in the education, job training and social reform workshops.

We need imaginative criminal and prison reform and change the way that we’ve tried to deal with crime in the past, which has always been around rehabilitation.

For me it’s a simple deal - abide by our values as a community or don’t be part of the community.

At least then our communities have a chance to recover.

There are stark warnings for the new generation coming through of what could happen to you if you fall on the wrong side of the line.

The status quo cannot remain.