Liberal Democrats Stronger Communities Safer Citizens Policies on Crime and Policing Promoting Security The role of government is to create a framework that enables individuals to live as members of safe and cohesive communities. Government must help free individuals from oppression, but it is equally important that government itself does not become oppressive. Liberal Democrats have developed a three part programme for reducing crime, based on strong policing, constructive sentencing and rehabilitation, and crime prevention. Fundamental to our policies is a respect for civil liberties and human rights regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, age or religion. Putting More Police Officers On The Beat We would: * Create Secure Communities and Strong Policing by providing 6,000 additional police officers on top of March 2000 levels, informing every community of their local named police officer and introducing a new category of 'Retained Police Officer'. * * Revitalise policing through a system of resource allocation for crime prevention following a National Crime Audit, requiring regular community consultation, greater local accountability and improved recruitment policies. * Fund improved policing and crime prevention from increased fines on corporate fraud and other offences where practicable and by earmarking fines from additional speed cameras. * Increase the time the police spend on preventing and detecting crime by reducing unnecessary paperwork and making greater use of new technologies. Focusing On Crime Prevention We would: * Develop a new 'National Crime Prevention Strategy' through a revamped Crime Prevention Agency, piloting 'City Wardens' schemes, targeting youth crime and high crime areas. * Give Councils the powers and resources to support high-quality, targeted crime prevention initiatives. Tackling Youth Crime We would: * Widen the use of schemes that require offenders to repay their debt to society and to confront the consequences of their actions. * Where appropriate, require parents to participate in support projects where their children have been involved in juvenile crime. * Develop the established ways of keeping young people out of crime such as supporting families, developing leisure and sporting opportunities for the young unemployed, making schools more effective at tackling bullying and truancy and developing an effective policy for dealing with excluded pupils. Tackling Hate Crimes We would: * Propose legislation against hate crimes and record such crimes centrally. * Establish police hate crime investigation units, to co-ordinate information and action against racist or homophobic hate crimes. * Require active recruitment from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and ethnic minority communities in an effort to make police forces more representative of the communities they serve, and provide comprehensive training in the diverse nature of British society. Strengthening the Criminal Justice System We would: * Create a Constructive Justice System by introducing 'Sentence Report Back' schemes to inform judges of re-offending rates, developing community sentences, enhancing restorative and reparative justice where appropriate. National Sentence Guidelines would detail research on sentencing and reduce inconsistency, however we oppose mandatory sentencing which removes judicial discretion. * Create a Constructive Prison System by developing a 'Working Prisons' system with a focus on rehabilitation, re-training, education and work in order to reduce re-offending. * Encourage the use of community sentences as an alternative to prison where the result is likely to be less reoffending, using prison sentences where they are essential to protect the public. * Concentrate resources on crime prevention and increasing conviction rates. Waging War on Drug Abuse We would: * Give the Police and Customs and Excise the support they need to stop drugs coming into Britain. * Set up a standing Royal Commission charged with developing policies to tackle the drugs problem in all its aspects at its roots. The Royal Commission would also look at misuse of alcohol, tobacco and solvents. * Support an expansion of Drug Courts which oversee rehabilitation, to break the cycle of drug addiction and offending. Giving Victims a New Deal We would: * Promote restorative justice, under which offenders can be required to compensate victims for the damage they have caused. * Ensure that the Victim Support movement and the Witness Support schemes play a full role in the criminal justice system. * Provide victims with the practical support they need to prevent repeat attacks. Strengthening Public Confidence in the Police We would: * Require regular consultation between the police and the communities they serve * Inform every community of their named local police officer and seek to improve recruitment policies to achieve more representative police forces. * Improve co-operation between police forces and work more closely with Britain's European partners to combat international crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and fraud. Policies stated in this briefing represent policy passed by the conference of the Liberal Democrats. A fully costed manifesto containing our priorities for government is published at each general election. This briefing contains extracts from Policy Paper 17 Stronger Communities, Safer Citizens, and Policy Review Paper, Moving Ahead - Towards a Citizens' Britain. February 2001 Produced by the Policy Unit. Printed by Liberal Democrats, 4 Cowley Street, London SW1P 3NB Published and Promoted by Chris Rennard, 4 Cowley Street, London SW1P 3NB Crime and Policing