No More Hard Labour?

By Rick Muir / @rickmuir1

Ed Miliband has signalled that he wants to recalibrate Labour’s approach to crime and justice. In particular he has signalled support for Ken Clarke’s prison reforms and has said he wants Labour to take back lost territory on civil liberties.

In this context, how are we to judge last week’s Shadow Cabinet appointments? On the one hand Sadiq Khan at justice, a former human rights solicitor, appears to herald a more liberal approach, especially on sentencing and penal reform. On the other hand Ed Balls at home affairs is widely seen as ‘tough on crime’, ready to land heavy punches on the coalition as they row back on anti-social behaviour laws and cut police numbers.

Some might say that this leaves Labour looking confused – facing two ways at once. Instead I see these appointments as complimentary – sustaining the best of what went before, while abandoning the worst.

One of Tony Blair’s greatest achievements was to make crime a ‘Labour issue’. ‘Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ was an act of political triangulation par excellence. Blair argued that the right could never reduce crime because it ignored its causes, while the left lacked credibility with the public because it tended to downgrade individual culpability. New Labour, he promised, would tackle both.

This was not just clever politics – it also worked as a piece of public policy. Crime as measured by the British Crime Survey fell dramatically over Labour’s time in office. This was in large part due to a growing economy and high levels of employment – eating away at the causes of crime. At the same time greater enforcement through ‘more bobbies on the beat’ and the anti-social behaviour legislation improved public perceptions of community safety.

If Ed Balls’ appointment signifies continuity with this broad strategy, then that is to be welcomed. The left should take crime seriously – not just because the public care about it, which they do – but also because it is a question of social justice. If you live in a household with an income below £10,000 a year, compared to one with an income of over £30,000 a year, you are 1.3 times more likely to be burgled, 1.6 times more likely to be mugged and 4.2 times more likely to feel very unsafe walking alone after dark.

This means addressing crime’s causes by reducing unemployment and investing in positive activities and opportunities for young people. But it also means tackling crime directly by catching the perpetrators and making sure justice is provided for the victims.

But while the broad parameters of this strategy are right, Labour also has to recognise that it made mistakes. The most significant was the continuation of the ‘prison works’ philosophy promoted by Michael Howard. Sure, Labour did improve our prisons by investing significant amounts in drugs, alcohol and mental health services. But whatever good was done was simply drowned out by the sheer numbers coming into prison, which meant that the new resources were never adequate.

The fact is that with reoffending rates running at 60% prisons are not working. They are failing to use the time people spend inside to help them turn their lives around and reintegrate back into society. So, Ken Clarke is absolutely right to look at reducing the use of short term sentences and instead offer appropriate alternative forms of punishment and rehabilitation in the community. Labour should back the coalition if they propose a progressive package to get prison numbers down.

On civil liberties the last government was guilty of authoritarian excesses that Ed Miliband is wise to abandon. Labour should take a recalibrated – but nonetheless balanced – approach. Far too often people bundle together a whole range of sensible and proportionate measures (CCTV outside the local shops) with draconian and indefensible measures such as 90 days detention without charge. The former represents a marginal diminution of liberty in return for a significant increase in community safety – while the latter is an attack on our basic human rights. On civil liberties we need to distinguish the trivial from the fundamental.

Tony Blair was right that Labour would be letting down the working class communities it represents if it abandoned crime as a political priority. Nevertheless, on criminal justice policy Labour needs to be as smart and principled as it is tough. The appointment of Ed Balls and Sadiq Khan looks to me like an astute re-balancing of the party’s approach.

Rick Muir is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr).