LIBERAL DEMOCRAT VIEW

Asbos youths need more help — Kennedy

Young offenders subjected to anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) should be given more help to turn them away from a life of crime, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said today. Unveiling details of his party’s new “Asbo Plus” proposals, Mr Kennedy accused the Government of being “tough on crime but soft on the causes of crime” and promised a policy of “tough liberalism” which would combine punishment and rehabilitation. But he was himself accused of being “soft on crime” by Labour, who said the Lib Dems were more interested in protecting the rights of yobs than protecting the law-abiding majority. In a speech to Liberal Democrat activists in London, Mr Kennedy said Asbos had been successful in providing “short-term relief” to embattled communities. And he accepted that dispersal orders — which the Lib Dems initially opposed — had been shown to work when used “judiciously” to break up gangs of youngsters.
But he added: “Unless there is also a strategy for changing the behaviour of offenders, we either push the problem behind closed doors, or shunt it from one community to another.

“That’s why Liberal Democrats are now calling for Asbo Plus. Where there is a need for an Asbo, you issue it. But it must only be used in conjunction with action to tackle the underlying causes of these problems. “Youth workers to sort out attitudes and to divert them into positive activities. Social workers to encourage families to pull together. Drug workers to tackle substance misuse. Education and training for those who are excluded from school or unemployed.” Mr Kennedy described the proposal as “a direct challenge to Tony Blair and (Home Secretary) David Blunkett”, who he accused of creating a “climate of fear” to obscure the real issues about crime.

“The Government has been tough on rhetoric, but weak on solutions,” he said. “Its approach is piecemeal, knee-jerk, headline-chasing, focusing on the symptoms — the criminals — at the expense of sound policies aimed at tackling the disease — crime itself. “Moral outrage is always a powerful political tool. But by creating a climate of fear, and stoking public anger; by ratcheting up the rhetoric and then resorting to gimmicky quick-fix solutions, Labour seeks to deflect the real debate about how to deal with crime, security, law and order. “The real, effective solutions to crime are liberal solutions — punishment and rehabilitation. “But action to tackle re-offending, or to guide those headed for a life of crime into lawful productive lives, is certainly not a soft option. In fact, it is not an option at all — it is essential if we are going to reduce crime. That is tough liberalism.”

But Labour campaign spokesman Fraser Kemp said: “The Lib Dems are soft on crime. Charles Kennedy cannot escape his record on crime.” He released a “charge sheet” setting out Lib Dem opposition in Parliament to dispersal orders, fixed penalty notices for drunken louts and restrictions on the sale of spray-paint to teenagers, as well as the party’s proposals to stop people being jailed for the possession of drugs for personal use. “Labour has taken tough measures to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour, to tackle truancy, graffiti and vandalism and to break up teen gangs,” said Mr Kemp. “But the Lib Dems have repeatedly tried to block these measures. The truth is the Lib Dems are more interested in protecting the rights of teen gangs and yobs than protecting the law-abiding people who are threatened by them.” Mr Kennedy also highlighted his party’s plans for Community Justice Panels to deal with minor crimes like graffiti, vandalism and drunk and disorderly behaviour. The Panels would force petty offenders to confront those affected by their crimes and apologise to them and to do work in the community to make amends for their actions. “The scheme would give the public an unprecedented say in the way that local crime problems are dealt with, as well as offering offenders a way to pay back for the harm they have done to their community,” said Mr Kennedy. He also called for more skills training in prisons to give inmates a chance of finding a job on release and to cut the 71% reoffending rate for 18-21 year-olds. “It is an appalling truth that half of all our prisoners have the skills of an 11-year-old in reading; two-thirds have the skills of an 11-year-old in numeracy; and a staggering four-fifths in writing,” said Mr Kennedy. “Too many cannot write a CV, operate a computer or conduct themselves in an interview.

“Let’s get them out of their cells and into the prison classrooms and workshops. Indeed we could link such a regime to early-release schemes as a practical incentive to learn. “It is certainly likely to have a greater dividend in the long term than simply reserving a cell for when they return.”

Andrew Woodcock
15 November 2004

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