Ministers ‘forgetting rational debate’ in law and order
The government is in danger of acting uncritically on public fears about law and order, a leading criminologist has warned.
Ian Loader, professor of criminology at Oxford university, says ministers appear to have lost confidence in their ability to “engage in a dialogue” with people on the controversial issues of immigration, prisons and sex offenders.
And he urges Tony Blair to “think hard” before making “another grand statement of governmental purpose and a further round of headline-grabbing legislation”.
His comments, made in an invited submission to the prime minister, come before Mr Blair makes a major speech on the issue, where he is expected to call for a “rebalancing” of the criminal justice in favour of the victims.
But Professor Loader writes: “You seem to take the view that the role of government is to act as an uncritical cipher for public anger and demands viz. crime and disorder.”
What ministers should do is point out how limited police resources, the effects of jail on offenders, prison capacity and the constraints that must exist in a liberal democracy, meant not all victims can get the kind of redress they want.
The government should be “a voice of reason and restraint rather than a conduit or cheer-leader for longer sentences and more punishment”, he says.
The criticisms come after a senior police officer earlier this week accused the government of being “blackmailed” by the tabloid newspapers, after home secretary John Reid announced he was considering introducing Megan’s law into Britain.
It came after a six-year campaign for a new right for parents to know about paedophiles in their neighbourhood by the News of the World. Downing Street denied bowing to tabloid pressure, but said they were right to respond to “genuine concerns”.
Professor Loader calls on Mr Blair to concentrate on “discovering, funding, delivering and explaining to people programmes that work”, and reducing the profile of law and order, which has become an area of “legislative hyperactivity” in recent years.
More than 40 pieces of legislation have been passed on crime and punishment since 1997, in addition to countless statements of intent from ministers, a situation which led former prisons chief Lord Ramsbottom to call for Mr Blair this week to “just shut up”.
Former minister John Denham also met with Mr Blair ahead of today’s speech, and in his submission he says the call for a “rebalancing” of the criminal justice system implied the system was biased in favour of offenders – which was not necessarily the case.
“Rather, there are a number of different reasons for the system letting victims down,” the chairman of the home affairs select committee writes.
“In many cases the problem lies with the practical application of policy, conflicts between different government priorities, and the failure to adapt criminal justice system structures to modern needs, rather than the law or its interpretation.”
