David Cameron is in Bolton and Salford today, accompanied by David Davis. Cameron will make a speech on crime in an hour.
Here is what he will say: Download Cameron crime speech.pdf. Our summary will follow shortly is below:
Violent society: "I want to speak about the senseless, barbaric and seemingly
remorseless prevalence of violence in our country. A violence that
takes our families, torments them with suffering and tears them apart.
A violence that takes our communities, rips out their soul and
paralyses them with fear. And a violence that takes our claim to
civilisation – our common humanity, the sanctity of life, and the idea
that everyone has the right to live free from fear – and betrays it."
Atomised society: "We’re collapsing into an atomised society, stripped of the local bonds
of association which help tie us together. These include community
groups, faith organisations and civic representation… Too often we
seem to retreat from one another, to the safe and reassuring anchor of
our homes… Why? Because we’ve created a culture where it’s somehow
wrong for an adult to talk to a child causing a nuisance."
The failed Respect Agenda: "In some areas, three quarters of ASBOs have been breached. Key pledges on Police Community Support Officers have not been met. And what were once deemed ‘essential’ projects, such as the 101 non-emergency number, have been scrapped… [Brown’s] actually now choosing to ignore the problem of our violent society completely. He talks endlessly about the long-term challenges facing Britain – but he never mentions crime as one of them."
Social covenant: "It’s time for a new approach. One based on a new optimism: where we say
we can take back our streets and we can build a better society. And one based on a new agreement– what I have called a Social
Covenant..a national recognition that it’s not just up to the
Government to take responsibility for the state of our nation, it’s up
to all of us."
Zero tolerance: "They’ve got to enforce
the most basic principle of communal life: personal responsibility.
That means sending out an unequivocal message about punishment and
deterrence. There must be zero-tolerance of knives, let alone guns.
There must be a relentless focus on the low level disorder from which
more serious crime grows. Magistrates must be given more power over
sentencing."
The police’s paperwork burden: "Police
officers actually spend more time on paperwork than they do on patrol.
That’s completely wrong and it has to change… We need to get our
police officers back on the street, getting on with
the job they were trained to do and protecting the community they
serve. This means having locally elected mayors or police
commissioners, who
are accountable to local people and provide the beat-based,
zero-tolerance policing that everyone wants in their community"
The police’s healthy and safety burden: "I can announce today that I have asked David Ruffley, Shadow Minister
in charge of Police Reform, to consult with senior police officers to
see what changes can be made to reduce the burden of health and safety
legislation on our police forces….legislation that has helped feed
this damaging culture of risk aversion and stops the police getting on
with the job.
Leaving room for common sense: "Not far from here, last September, a boy Jordon Lyon drowned. Two
community support officers arrived at the scene but felt they couldn’t
get in the water. Why? Because the rule-book said so. Well, we’ve got to start tearing up the rule books and allowing people
common sense, initiative, and responsibility in the jobs that they do."
Cotton wool society: "Better in a boxing
ring, than hanging around on the streets…Better looking up to Amir than
some drug dealer on the street… you can’t go through life without
cuts and bruises. We got to stop thinking that by wrapping both
children and adults in
cotton wool, we are protecting them. The reality is we are making them
more vulnerable."
Imagine: "Imagine a society where families
are living together rather than being paid by the state to live
apart… where local democracy is re-invigorated and civic
leadership revived… a society which harnesses the power and dynamism
of social
enterprises that are dedicated to social justice… a society that is
re-socialised, re-invigorated,
re-engaged – with a criminal justice system that both properly punishes
and reforms, and police force that are on the streets and known to the
community…and you can imagine just how we can end our culture of
violence and reclaim our streets."