In the run up to the General Election, the Tories portrayed themselves as the party of law and order. They claimed they would send a serious unambiguous message that carrying a knife is totally unacceptable. They even went as far as making a pledge that anyone caught carrying a knife could expect a term in jail. This was certainly a message welcomed by those that have been victims or lost friends or family as a result of knife crime. Yet only a few months later, the ‘tough on crime Tories’ have dropped their pledge on a prison sentence for those caught carrying a knife, in favour of a caution.

There is no getting away from the reason behind this decision, and that is reducing the number of inmates in jail and saving money. Or to put it another way, it is more important in the eyes of Justice Secretary Ken Clarke and his fellow Tories to cut costs and reduce jail numbers than to tackle knife crime. This is easy for Ken and his wealthy Conservative chums, many of whom live on select estates patrolled by private security companies. It is not so easy for people that live on certain council estates or in no go areas patrolled by gun and knife carrying gangs. Clarke’s decision is one of surrendering the streets of ordinary folk to these gangs and knife wielding thugs. It is typical of a government that is more determined to win control of the Helmand Province than the crime infested streets of some of our inner cities.

When you consider the Tories and their Lib Dem bedfellows’ plans to reduce jail numbers in relation to some of their other policies, anybody with an ounce of common sense can see they just do not add up. There is going to be mass redundancies with a large number of people unable to find work. There is going to be a clamp down on benefits, with no doubt a large number of easy target genuine claimants being hit. A small percentage of these unfortunate people will turn to crime out of sheer desperation, and no doubt some will find their way into the custodial system. Will jail places be found for these people instead of knife wielding thugs?

The Tories alone cannot be held completely responsible for this fiasco. We have known for years the number of prison places has been running low, yet the Labour Government decided two aircraft(less) carriers for international conflict were more important than four prison ships for the nation’s convicts. In other words, they chose to put other people’s houses in order before looking after our own.

It is a simple fact England needs prisons and this cannot be ignored. However we also need to consider a wide range of punishments, including community based hard labour and curfew orders for lesser offenders. We have all read reports of offenders serving longer sentences for minor offences than of someone convicted of brutally beating up a pensioner. This is severely wrong and the English Radicals would ensure those convicted of such violent crimes face the severest penalties.  At the same time we believe people currently in jail for minor offences could easily pay for their crime with firm community based punishments, thus freeing cells for more serious offenders.

Returning to the subject of knife crime, the English Radical Alliance believes nobody should carry a knife without good reason. We feel members of the public should feel confident to report those suspected of carrying knives, knowing their anonymity is guaranteed and the offender faces a severe prison sentence. We believe this sentence should include both hard labour and rehabilitation training before the offender is released. We need to ensure no go areas and gangland housing estates are reclaimed and real communities created in their place. Not everyone is fortunate enough to live in the select private security patrolled streets of some Tories, but we all have the right to live without fear of crime and violence. How many more innocent lives shall have to be lost to knife crime before Ken Clarke and our other senior politicians give us that right? As English Radicals our answer is ‘None’!
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