Soft on crime and the causes of crime
PM’s justice plan a ‘rehash’
LABOUR yesterday tore into Boris Johnson as “soft on crime, soft on the causes of crime” as his justice plan was blasted as “old ideas presented as new”.
Mr Johnson emerged from his 10-day coronavirus self-isolation to unveil his Beating Crime plan with Home Secretary Priti Patel.
The plan includes an aim to give crime victims a named officer to call about their case – but College of Policing guidance already says: “Officers and staff must... provide a ‘single points of contact’ for information where possible.”
The plan pledges league tables grading forces for their 999 response times – but targets already exist.
Mr Johnson said: “If you are guilty of antisocial behaviour and you are sentenced to unpaid work... I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be out there in one of those fluorescent-jacketed chain gangs, visibly paying your debt.”
Yet offenders taking part in “community payback” schemes are already required to wear a hi-vis vest.
An announced increased use of stop and search is simply restoring powers stripped from officers by Mr Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May.
Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said the PM’s 2019 promise of 20,000 “extra” police officers came after his party cut 21,000 from 2010 onwards. He added:
“On their watch, antisocial behaviour is rocketing. There are record low convictions for rape.”
The PM’s plan also includes burglars being made to wear GPS tags on release from prison.
Police Federation of England and Wales chairman John Apter wrote to No10 saying the Beating Crime plan was “old ideas presented as new”.
He added: “We need genuine investment for the whole of the criminal justice system and genuine consultation. Police officers are sick of gimmicks. Sick of underfunding... sick of government contempt.”
Mr Thomas-Symonds’s criticism that Tories are soft on crime echoed then-Shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair’s 1993 vow to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”.
At Surrey Police HQ yesterday, the PM said: “We are putting £15.8billion into supporting our police.”
Antisocial behaviour’s rocketing.. record low convictions for rape
NICK THOMAS-SYMONDS, LEFT, ON TORY POLICIES