Combating crime is about more than catchy election slogans. The (in)famous New Labour sound-bite “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” is widely believed to have been coined by our new Prime Minister. At the time, it was deemed politically effective at positioning the New Labour project on the right side of a domestic issue previously believed to be ‘natural Tory territory’. Since then, we have had a series of Home Secretaries who have, at times, appeared more ‘right wing’ than their opposing Conservative Shadows. However, like their performance and the election slogan that preceded them, the policies (and their implementation) have been found wanting.

Today, the Conservative Party has released a document titled “It’s time to fight back“. It reveals the sorry reality of the Labour Party’s failed attempts to deal with crime. Sadly, the document provides ample evidence of the ‘Broken Society’ that has developed under the present government. In the last 10 years, violent crime has doubled, with gun crime in particular increasing four-fold. Fatal attacks have become more common. The recent tragic cases of Rhys Jones and Garry Newlove are but two examples of needless deaths, casualties of a society that to my mind appears broken. Despite the awful reality we all see, the Labour Party appears to have its head buried in the sand. The worst ostrich of all is the latest Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, who when interviewed at the weekend, denied the concept of a broken society. What more needs to happen for this government to realise that there are deep-seated social problems within British society? A child allegedly gunning down another child in Liverpool is apparently not enough. What about an 18 year old girl called Sian Simpson being murdered in London by a gang of teenage girls? Acceptable behaviour in a decent society Ms Smith?

Unlike the Labour Party, who see government as an exercise in enacting legislation (30 criminal justice bills since 1997!!), the Conservative Party sees government as providing effective answers to crime, both in the shorter and longer term. Hence, a Conservative government would provide more police and make them more visible. Furthermore, Conservatives would scrap the Early Release Scheme introduced by the Labour Party so that criminals serve their full sentence. More importantly, though, a Conservative Party would set about healing our society. This is because Conservatives understand and accept that all citizens of this country have a social responsibility to build strong communities. For it is the creation of strong communities, in tandem with a strengthened police force and justice system, that will deal effectively with violent crime in this country. The Labour Party appears to have never understood that tough problems need tough decisions and tough measures, not easy sound-bites and empty gestures. In contrast, Conservatives have grasped the realities of violent crime prevention.