Richard Baum

Ahead of the Lib Dem conference, which starts in a couple of days in Bournemouth, Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne has sent this message outlining the parties approach to crime:

“Crime hurts some of the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society, who are least able to withstand its effects. All the political parties want to cut crime. The only question is how.

Our approach, as Liberal Democrats, is fundamentally different to that of Labour and the Conservatives. We favour what works. Criminal justice policy has been buffeted by tabloid opinion for too long. It is time for hard evidence in cutting crime.

With the highest prison population in Europe, we rely on prison far too much. First, re-offending is appallingly high as prisons are colleges of crime. Secondly, the chances of being caught are far too low as only one in a hundred crimes leads to a conviction. Our plans emphasise catching criminals through more and better policing.

This means more police on the streets, gathering intelligence, encouraging witnesses and building relationships with the communities they serve. It means improving the standard of the average police unit to that of the professional best so that the chances of detecting crime go up. That would solve an extra 140,000 violent crimes every year.

Unlike Labour and the Tories, we will not duck the big issues in police reform. It is unfair on the vast majority of diligent and hard-working officers that less conscientious colleagues are not tackled. We will review the single point of entry at the level of constable, the 30 year lifetime career, and pay by seniority rather than effort and talent.

At the heart of our reforms is a radical decentralisation of power. Local police authorities will hold chief officers to account; set local priorities instead of following Whitehall targets; and set budgets and tax precepts.

Unlike Labour and Tory plans for elected sheriffs, all parts of the community, including women and ethnic minorities, would be fairly represented. The plans breathe life into our commitment to localism by ensuring that councils take control where possible, but that police authorities are fairly elected otherwise. And they set out a route march for a real attack on crime by focussing not on what sounds tough, but on what works.”

Rick