Conservative response to Labour crime announcement

Responding, Oliver Dowden, Chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Labour have shown time and time again that they are weak on crime and weak on the causes of crime. They voted against tougher sentences for the most serious offenders, refused to back giving our frontline officers greater powers, and it was revealed this week that they would issue warnings to Class A drug users instead of prosecuting them.

“Only the Conservatives are getting on with the job of keeping the British people safe: by recruiting 20,000 more officers, boosting police funding to record levels, and introducing tougher sentences for child murderers, drink drivers, and those convicted of serious violent and sexual offences”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Labour have played politics with policing and crime and cannot be trusted to keep our communities safe:

• Labour repeatedly flip-flopped over the PCSC Bill – firstly saying it would support certain measures before then voting against it. Sarah Jones said the Bill included important measures, whilst Nick Thomas-Symonds previously called for specific legislation to protect our memorials. By opposing the Bill, Labour showed they had no interest in supporting our police and would rather try and score useless political points (Politics Home, 14 June 2020, link. Labour Press, 14 March 2021, link).

• Nick Thomas-Symonds has voted against boosting police funding at every opportunity, showing he cannot be trusted to give our forces the support they need. Nick Thomas-Symonds voted against the Police Funding Settlements in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. (Hansard, 10 February 2016, Division 191, link; Hansard, 22 February 2017, Division 165, link; Hansard, 7 February 2018, Division 116, link; Hansard, 10 February 2019, Division 321, link).

• Nick Thomas-Symonds said he would not lecture people who wanted to defund the police, showing Labour will never put our frontline officers first. ‘What I do say [on defunding the police], is there is a very deep anger out there and it’s not for me to start lecturing people as to how to express that anger’ (Sky News, Ridge on Sunday, 14 June 2020, archived).

Labour are weak on drug crime:

• Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour would issue warnings for Class A drug users ‘rather than prosecute them’, tantamount to decriminalisation, which he said he is against because it would ‘send out the wrong signal to people about what they can do and can not do’. ‘Police are right to issue warnings to Class A drug users rather than prosecute them, Labour’s shadow home secretary has said, … “my view is the same as his”, after the Labour leader said it was “probably the right thing to do” for police to warn drug users caught with heroin, cocaine and crystal meth rather than force them to face court. The controversial move has been rolled out in Scotland, supported by Nicola Sturgeon’s government... Mr Thomas-Symonds is firm that he does not support decriminalising drugs which would “send out the wrong signal to people about what they can do and can not do”’ (The Telegraph, 24 September 2021, link).

• David Lammy wants to wipe the criminal records of people who have been convicted of using drugs. ‘Will you wipe the criminal records clean of hundreds of thousands of working class, and black and brown kids who smoked weed like you did but ended up with criminal records not a posh job in Downing Street?’ (David Lammy, Twitter, 31 January 2019, link).

• Dundee City West CLP called for Labour to adopt the ‘Portuguese model’ of decriminalising all drugs. ‘Labour should campaign for radical reform to failing UK drug laws, using the Portuguese Model as an example of a successful approach to tackling the issue of drugs in society. - Labour should campaign for dramatic funding increases for drug addiction programmes, - focussing on treatment and rehabilitation rather than penal sentences and Methadone programmes’ (Conference Arrangements Committee, Motions, 25 September 2021, link).

We have a proud record of delivering on our commitments by supporting our police and tackling crime:

• Introducing our Beating Crime Plan, delivering the most comprehensive and far-reaching strategy of its kind yet. This plan is our blueprint for cutting crime and increasing confidence in our justice system. By combining prevention, deterrence, and enforcement, it will put victims first and support the dedicated and hardworking men and women from across our criminal justice system who keep us safe (UK Government, Beating Crime Plan, 27 July 2021, link).

• Recruiting 20,000 new police officers, helping to keep our streets safe. We have already recruited 9,814 new officers, and we are on track to recruit 20,000 extra officers by 2023. As part of this year’s £636 million police funding settlement, more than £400 million will go towards recruiting additional officers (Home Office, Police officer uplift, England and Wales, quarterly update to 30 June 2021, 28 July 2021, link).

• Boosting police funding by £636 million this year, ensuring our frontline officers have everything need to keep us safe. This brings total police funding up to £15.8 billion for 2021-2022, including £400 million to recruit 20,000 new officers by 2023, £914 million for counter-terrorism policing, and £1.1 billion to target national priorities such as reducing serious violence and clamping down on county lines (Home Office, News Story, 17 December 2020, link).

• Investing £65 million into dismantling county lines gangs, ensuring police have the resources they need to crack down on drug gangs. In January 2021 we announced a further £40 million to tackle county lines and drugs supply, bringing the total invested to £65 million since November 2019. The funding has already seen over 3,400 people arrested, more than 550 lines closed, more than £9 million street value of drugs and £1.5 million cash seized and more than 770 vulnerable people safeguarded (Home Office, Press Release, 20 January 2021, link).

• Passing our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill through the House of Commons, keeping the most dangerous criminals off our streets. Our PCSC Bill introduces whole life orders for child murderers and life sentences for drivers who kill whilst intoxicated, and ends the automatic early release of offenders convicted of serious violent and sexual offences (MoJ, Press Release, 9 March 2021, link; Hansard, 5 July 2021, Division 44, link).