 |
Sutton Borough Liberal DemocratsWorking for you all year round
Beddington, Belmont, Carshalton, Cheam, Clockhouse, Nonsuch, St Helier, Stonecot, Sutton, The Wrythe, Wallington and Worcester Park. |
Crime and Policing
June 21, 2011 3:14 PM
Crime is one of the biggest issues facing the country. It is far too high and too many people don't feel safe - in their own homes and in their town centres. The Liberal Democrats want to cut crime to make you safer.
For too long the debate about policing and criminal justice policy has been centred around what sounds tough rather than what works to cut crime. As well as scrapping ID cards, the Liberal Democrats are committed to meaningful reform of the police service and to putting criminal justice policy on an evidence-based footing. These proposals were outlined in our Cutting Crime by Catching Criminals paper in September.
The previous Government's catastrophic mismanagement of the criminal justice system has led to prisons bursting at the seams; the creation of over 3,600 new criminal offences since 1997; and an unprecedented criminalisation of our children. Instead of using prison and sentencing as a proxy for real action on crime, the Liberal Democrats believe in using alternative measures that are proven to reduce re-offending. These include community justice panels, the nationwide use of restorative justice and rigorous community punishments as an alternative to short-term prison sentences.
Liberal Democrats believe in the importance of the operational independence of the police. We are concerned that the involvement of party political candidates has the potential to jeopardise this operational independence. That is why as a general rule the party will not be fielding candidates in these elections. Individual Liberal Democrat members, where no Liberal Democrat candidate is standing, will be able to support appropriate non party political candidates. Should all the local parties in a region decide to field a Lib Dem candidate, the regional party will decide what support they give that candidate.