by Victims of antisocial behavior could choose how to punish offenders under Labour’s proposed plans.
The opposition has positioned itself as the party of law and order, with Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed saying he will update Tony Blair’s slogan ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ and put the prevention at the heart of their approach.
The Times said freedom of information requests showed nearly two million reports of antisocial behavior went unheard in the past three years, while community condemnations have halved over the past decade from 185,265 in 2011 to 72,021 in 2021. .
Criminal justice consultancy Crest Advisory attributed the decline to prosecutors who lost confidence that sentences would be completed, the paper added.
Mr Reed said increasing and strengthening the use of such sentences would address recidivism rates and give “a direct voice to victims”.
He told the Times: “Victims will be able to sort through the unpaid work done by offenders, so victims will see justice.”
Labor wants to broaden the scope of community rulings beyond tasks such as clearing wasteland, decorating community centres, repairing churches and removing graffiti.
He also proposes that victims sit on new community reimbursement committees to oversee sentences and ensure they are completed.
Mr. Reed said he wanted to update Mr. Blair from the 1990s on being “hard on the causes of crime” by reviewing how to put prevention at the heart of the criminal justice system.
The review will examine how countries, including New Zealand, have adopted an approach to providing specialist care to prevent re-offending by those living with domestic violence or parents with severe mental health problems.
Mr Reed said: “Rather than giving up on those people or letting them go out and offend me, I want to keep people safe and keep our community safe.
“You can do this by dealing with the effects of the trauma that leads them to offend. By doing this, you make them much less likely to offend again.
“So if we really want to keep people safe, we need to update Labour’s old slogan: ‘Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ and fit it for the future.
“All this science about trauma in the early aughts didn’t exist in the early ’90s when Tony Blair came up with that phrase. So I want to update it for today.
The party labeled “shameful” recent figures showing more than a million burglaries remained unsolved last year.
An analysis of Labour’s crime statistics found 1,145,254 burglary cases were dismissed last year because police failed to find a suspect.
He said the average home burglary costs victims £1,400, with the party warning families are losing millions to unsolved crimes.
Labor said if they were in government they would put 13,000 more police on the streets in a move funded by combining procurement for forces in England and Wales.
Earlier this year the police chiefs in England and Wales promised that the force would deal with all residential burglaries.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday called the figures “disgraceful”.
“Theft and burglary are terrible crimes and should be properly investigated, not just left for the victims to make an insurance claim.
“The Home Secretary has no intention of turning the tables and is instead obsessed with gimmicks rather than a serious plan to catch more criminals.
“Labour has a comprehensive plan to put 13,000 more community police on our streets, fighting crime at its source and supporting communities.”
The party also found that the overall charge rate, which is the percentage of crimes that result in a suspect being arrested and charged, fell to a low of just 5.4%, down from more than the 15% of seven years ago.
A Home Office spokesman said: “As the Home Secretary made clear, we welcome the commitment to police presence at home burglaries.
“We continue to support the police, including through record investment and the recruitment of an additional 20,000 officers by March 2023.”
