Home Office

Policy Statement

We will continually reduce the level of crime by effective apprehension and rehabilitation of offenders, protection of people and property and by discouraging those at risk from becoming offenders in the first place.  We will ensure that the threat of terrorist action affecting British citizens is minimal.  We will ensure that all British citizens are registered and entitled to the rights – and responsible for the obligations – of citizenship.  We will repatriate foreign nationals living in the UK but not entitled to do so.

Performance Reporting

An annual report on the level of all crimes with an overall score based on severity of different types, and on terrorism threats and measures taken and contemplated (although some issues will be confidential and not published) and on the status of immigration all including trends together with a report on initiatives undertaken and planned for improvement.  Confidential annual and as required reports to the Home Affairs Select Committee who will publish whatever they feel is appropriate.

Strategic Initiatives

Tackling the causes of crime

To quote Tony Blair we will be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.  But at present we don’t know enough about the causes of crime.

100 days:  We will commission a large scale investigation into why certain people become criminals to determine policy initiatives for both avoidance and rehabilitation

1 year:  We would expect an interim report within our first year which would make early recommendations.  We would act on those recommendations, determine initiatives and implement them.

5 years:  We would expect the investigation to continue for at least 5 years.

Making crime statistics accurate

Crime statistics are patchy at present.  We need standardised reports allowing comparisons between time periods and regions.  Not a difficult job but necessary.

1 year:  We will commission an independent auditor to recommend improvements to crime reporting systems and implement changes.

A root and branch review of the criminal and civil justice system including the standard of proof required (possibly to balance of probability), use of juries, sentencing, police force organisation

Our criminal justice system is pretty good – ranked 12th in the world in a 2015 survey above the US and France but below the Scandinavian countries and Australia.  We think we can do better.  There are occasional miscarriages of justice, there are frequent unsolved or unpunished crimes, the jury system is not widely respected, our police forces are regionally organised and not unified.  We will conduct a major investigation to see if it can be improved but we will not tinker without the people’s consent – any proposals will be put to a consensus-seeking public consultation.

100 days:  We will call a working party together to conduct an initial study to give options on the scope and approach of the investigation.

1 year:  We will consider initial conclusions and set terms of reference for the full review

5 years:  We will receive progress reports and ensure that the public is informed and engaged.   It is likely that any proposals will be endorsed by inclusion in a General Election manifesto.

Address Muslim extremism by supporting the Muslim community and reformers

Inter-community relations are of general concern but there is a severe lack of understanding and integration between the Muslim community and the rest of the country.  The teachings of Islam are to some extent at odds with the Western liberal way of life particularly on matters such as alcohol use and sex outside marriage (for example, the phrase Boko Haram means western education is a sin).  This causes friction in some cases leading to extremism.

We need to bridge the gap and get much better integration.  We need the help of the moderate Muslim majority to identify what we need to do.

This might lead to other initiatives.  The charity Inspire has said “Islamist radicalisation shares a significant number of root causes with gang-based radicalisation, political extremism, gun and knife crime and aggressive forms of racism“.  Lessons learned about the Muslim community might be applied more generally.

100 days:   We will assemble a group including at least one reformer (such as Ayyan Hirsi Ali) to give options on the scope and approach to be adopted.

1 year:  Following the group’s initial conclusions we will set an overall plan, including international co-operation, to end inter-community strife.

5 years and longer term:  We will follow the plan through.

Implement a database of citizens and foreigners with right of residence for use by all departments

Most Government departments need to know who has a right to their services.  So they register us – we have a National Insurance number, an NHS number, a tax reference, a passport number and so on.  Latvia has the most efficient Government systems in the world and they are based on a single database of all citizens.  We will do the same.

100 days:  We will assemble a team to commission the project and draft a plan.   It will probably be based on the existing register of one department.  We will consider privacy campaigners’ point of view.

1 year:  We will approve and publish the plan and make efforts to gain general approval.

5 years:  We will need to specify the criteria, rights and obligations of being British in order to make a phased implementation of the database and make it available for use by all departments.

Cracking down on illegal immigrants

We don’t need a witch hunt but people of other nationalities who should not be here should be found and repatriated – sensitively since we will often be dealing here with vulnerable people.  We will rely on systems and data rather than heavy-handed policing.  The systems available will be enhanced as developments take place in the database of citizens and foreigners with right of residence, the possible use of iris scans to identify individuals, the use of census questions and changes to the benefits and tax systems.

1 year:  We will assemble a team and prepare a plan. They will determine the organisation, people and facilities required as systems develop.

5 years and longer term:  The team will implement the system and continue its operation.

Eliminating slavery in UK

It is both astonishing and disgraceful that there are people living in the UK in conditions amounting to slavery.

5 years:  We will commission a new initiative to eliminate slavery using reports from the public (particularly from those in a position to notice the signs such as postmen and delivery drivers) and data from the systems to combat illegal immigration.

In This Section

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *