Alcohol Related Crime

There is one thing I keep on saying just because it has made such a deep and lasting impression on me: In almost ten years of volunteer prison visiting in a category C prison, I never visited a criminal who was in for violent crime whose crime was not alcohol or drugs related. Now I am of course sure there are plenty of people who get into trouble and are sober at the time. But that was my experience. And of course I must bring my experience to this post.

I am concerned at the level of drink related violence, and general anti-social behaviour, in Devon and Cornwall. Be very cautious if some statistician tells you that incidents of anti-social behaviour declined in Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by 27% over the past year. That figure is being bandied about by some but it is utterly spurious. The government changed the way anti-social behaviour was defined last year, changed it quite dramatically. There were eight different categories of “anti-social behaviour” and the government has cut these back to five – thus for instance “environmental” anti-social behaviour such as fly tipping (up by 5% this year) is no longer considered “anti-social behaviour”. So you can no longer depend on the statistics until we are again comparing like with like. There is no evidence to indicate that levels of anti social behaviour have actually declined in Devon and Cornwall. Nor for that matter is there any evidence that they have increased. The statistics are simply unavailable.

But if we are to deliver a society free from fear we must deliver a society free from anti-social behaviour. How shall we do it?

Well, I believe the answer is clear enough. In those areas in which disorderly behaviour continues to worsen, we will introduce zero tolerance policing. I am talking about the very worst areas here, not everywhere. Zero tolerance policing for disorderly behaviour will mean a presumption to arrest. A presumption to arrest because police officers must always have discretion. Arrest in this instance either means a night in the cells or street bail.

How then would you decide which areas come in for zero tolerance policing? There have been nearly 17,000 incidents of rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour in Devon and Cornwall in the past six months. But my inclination is to use a finer index. There will be a process of consultation with the police force first of course, but the figures for street drinking with rowdy behaviour (over 500 incidents in six months) and littering with drugs paraphernalia (130 plus incidents in the past six months) would, I believe, make good benchmark figures in which we could reasonably expect a reduction if I were elected. So that is the statistic we may use to define poor performance areas.

Not that our problems with alcohol are confined to the street drinking issue. We live in a world in which many now are given to pre-loading (drinking at home) before a night out. The more sinister aspects of alcohol related violence (stabbings for instance) are of grave concern – and violent crime is definitely on the increase in Devon and Cornwall. But we have to start somewhere if we are to put things right.

Nor would we merely have a heavy handed approach. There will be more Restorative Justice as an alternative to charge. That alternative will be offered where appropriate to those under 21s arrested. And where Restorative Justice (which generally involves elements of apology and restitution) is inappropriate, we will, wherever possible, offer the young offender Community Payback. Here again we are talking Community Payback as an alternative to charge. This is what used to be called “community service” but I prefer its modern stronger name. It is no soft option. But I have visited young offenders in what is euphemistically called a Young Offenders’ Unit. These are, with the best will in the world, true crime factories and imprisoning youngsters is no solution.

Again, there are other measures that are needed. Alcohol related crime requires a thoughtful approach. Some youngsters can become recidivists and in such instances we need to work to deliver the kind of mentoring approach advocated by the Cornish charity, White Gold. We also need to reintroduce Remand Fostering (currently abolished in Cornwall but still available in Devon), whereby if young offenders cannot be returned to abusive homes, there is some alternative to imprisonment. I will commit to that.

But with alcohol, what is critical is the detox issue. Under 21s addicted to alcohol (or indeed drugs) can be helped by home detox. This means a Community Detox Nurse visits the addict at home. I will ensure the numbers of detox nurses are doubled where necessary. But my real target is to fight to help establish Britain’s only dedicated detox centre for Under 21s addicted to drugs or alcohol – and to do that here in the South West.

Finally, I confirm that we will increase numbers of sworn officers on duty late on a Friday and Saturday night. This will mean an increase in numbers of Specials on the Force (volunteer officers working as specially trained constables). This can be done. At the same time there will be no further cuts in local policing.  

Our culture promotes binge drinking and fosters violence. In my view this is the fault of the adults like you and I who accept the sale of cheap strong liquor to the young. It is time to say enough is enough and build a better world, not just for ourselves but for the next generation.

Children and drugs and Alcohol

I want to use this article to focus on one of my flagship manifesto commitments, that of setting up a detox centre for under 21s addicted to drugs and / or alcohol. This is something I want to set up here, in our area, in either Devon or Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly.

The Isles of Scilly is tempting, on one of those quiet off islands. That would give people something to talk about. I remember a recent article in which a Deputy Police Boss was quoted as saying the Scillies might be neglected after the election because there weren't many voters. Don't you believe it.

I have been thinking of other possible locations. What about Old Bodmin Hospital for instance? Such a beautiful building and a squandered resource. But no. It's too close to town.

The answer is a farm. We already have an excellent farm rehab centre in Cornwall at Bosence in my end of the County. That's precisely the kind of location we need. Somewhere remote and inspiring. Somewhere gloriously beautiful. Bodmin Moor for instance. Or maybe we could buy up some Forestry Commission land.

Why are we going to do this? Because there is nowhere. You heard me. NOWHERE. Nowhere in Britain. Nowhere anywhere in these British Isles that is a dedicated detox centre for under 21s addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Now I realise that in many instances home detox is better for children and under 21s addicted to alcohol. We will increase provision of community detox nurses one way or another. But that does not work in every case. At the risk of promoting a stereotype, many recidivist young offenders with addiction problems come from families in which an adult male, perhaps a step-father, beats up the wife or kids. In instances such as this home detox is not the answer.

Why am I, putative Police and Crime Commissioner, committing to this project? because I am here to deal with the causes of crime. This should be delivered by the Health Authority but if they fail in their duty it must still be provided.

To be honest, I would hope this is a task we can share, with the Health Authority, the Local Authority, and the Police Force all carrying some of the burden together. And this is my objective.

In any case I envision the Police Force purchasing the premises and beefing them up. This at least will cost the people of Devon and Cornwall nothing. We will sell off redundant Police Premises (part of Police land at Middlemoor is already slated for sale for supermarket development) and purchase and build accordingly. The Police Property portfolio will thus remain much the same in value - it is just a redistribution of assets.

As regards the way this will be run - well I am struck with the idea of the Police Force taking a lead role. Of course, we will have the place run by detox nurses, and they will be advised by a treatment committee that will recommend procedures according to state-of-the art practice. However, why not have the whole place run as a sort of outward bound unit of the Police Cadets? Is that so impractical? A Health Authority lead on treatment is of course preferred. But no one will hold us over a barrel on this. If necessary this project will go forward as an independent police funded third sector charity. But it will happen if I am elected. And it will be outstanding. This is a commitment and one from which I will not be diverted.

Why is this so important? I have worked for years on promoting Peace in the Middle East. There is a difference between Peace and concord. You can have concord between thieves and murderers, a state of truce if you like. But peace is something deeper. Peace means spreading a little sunshine around. Peace means living together without hatred or fear. And the young people of Devon and Cornwall need peace in their hearts just as do the rest of us. They too are vulnerable. More so. That youngsters should have lost their way on drugs and alcohol, because we, society, have let them down, is a tragedy. We cannot stand idly by and permit this to continue. Having a state of the art detox facility is not the whole answer. But it is an important element in the mix. I will deliver it.

A dear friend of mine had a daughter, Rosie, the sweetest child, who died of alleged substance abuse in Somerset the day before yesterday. How many of you know people, young people, who have addiction problems? I will do something about it. If there is one pledge, above all others, that I will sweat blood to deliver, it is this one.

Child Safe

The news in regard to child safety issues has been nothing short of horrendous lately. The murder of five year old April Jones in Machynlleth and the tales of Jimmy Savile’s abusive behaviour make for grim reading.

The broader picture is that, beyond this, our children are potential victims of speeding drivers and, not uncommonly, family crime such as parental abuse.

If elected I will introduce my Child Safe programme in consultation with the community at large. Before that vital consultation takes place I do not wish to draw hard and fast lines. However, schemes for consideration might be:

1.       Safe walk-to-school routes and play streets patrolled by fully checked volunteer Street Wardens.

2.       The use of a low key Police presence at the school gates to safeguard children. I had thought of using sniffer dogs in secondary school and sixth form environments to ensure that schools, and the school gate, remain drug free, but my advisers tell me, quite rightly, that would demonise children and is inappropriate. However we do have to step up to the mark. There is peer group pressure on drug taking and we must address this issue as a top priority.

3.       Of course it is Local Authorities that look after children in care and watch out for vulnerable children in the communities. They do a great job, though one aspect of the present system disturbs me: Because of the need for confidentiality children are referred to in oversight meetings as child X or Baby S or some such acronym. This happens in all meetings with those who are responsible for oversight. It makes it very difficult, speaking as one who has served on a County Children's Committee, to keep track of which children are under threat. You may want to take note of a particular vulnerable child, identify siblings, and watch out for them over a period of months. This is well nigh impossible when the modern paranoia over confidentiality takes precedence over the safety of the child. The same constraints, fortunately, are not placed upon officers of the law, who are trusted in a way elected officials are not. We need to think again about our provisions for child safety. We need better monitoring of children in care. Once children enter the system and are flagged up as endangered, I will see that steps are taken to ensure better communication and better protect the vulnerable in Devon, Cornwall and the Islands.

4.       And for those children who do get into trouble with the law, I will reintroduce Remand Fostering where young offenders who do not merit imprisonment cannot safely be returned to a home environment where they are subject to family abuse. I will also ratchet up the use of home detox nurses for teenagers who become addicts.

5.       I will use more Restorative Justice and Community Payback for young offenders post arrest as an alternative to bringing charges under the criminal justice system. I will also increase the use of the mentoring system for young recidivists.

6.       I will promote better communication between the police and probation service so that the probation service is properly and speedily informed if, for example, someone in their care is rearrested.

All of the above commitments will only go forward in consultation with parents and teachers and other interested parties. I will listen. That is the only sensible way in which we can proceed. I do not believe in remote policing. The police are part of the community and must be seen to be a part of the community.

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The following article appears in this month's issue of the Saltash Observer:

Cornish Candidate says Commissioner Should be Non-Political

Changes in our policing are one of the public’s major concerns. Many fear the effect of a reduction in the police budget and its impact on law and order. In November we will all have the opportunity to register our views on policing in the historic, first-ever, direct public election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall. In your last month’s ‘Observer’ as many of you commented, we allowed one of the political party candidates to be promoted. Since we are open to all who wish to use our columns to put forward their views, we are happy to redress the balance this month by allowing a Cornish Independent
candidate to state his views:

Ten years meeting hundreds of convicted offenders as a volunteer prison visitor, coupled with work at conflict resolution in the Middle East culminating in his heading up a charity ‘The Next Century Foundation’ bent on resolving peace process issues, gives Cornishman William Morris, so he believes, unique experience which he can utilise as Police and Crime Commissioner for the South West. This is a new post which he believes should be firmly established as non political.

All too well aware, from his experience as a prison visitor, of the effect of drugs and alcohol on crime rates and especially concerned that the South West as ‘the end of the line’ has one of the country’s most serious drug scenes, and growing, he is anxious to establish a ‘community detox’ facility to steer young people away from this scene.

At present there are no proper detox facilities in Cornwall for under-eighteens addicted to drug or alcohol abuse. Remedying this, alongside the introduction of more local policing is, he claims, one of the measures he will take by which crime, as well as fear of crime, in towns and rural areas can be drastically reduced.

The vicious cycle of social deprivation leading to reduced expectation and criminal activity in a subculture of crime should be addressed, Mr. Morris considers, as a matter of urgency. One of the many measures he backs is the reintroduction of ‘remand fostering’ for young offenders, and he seeks to recruit experienced foster parents to achieve this.

While national crime figures are falling those in the South West are rising and with a government reduced budget this is clearly a challenge to any elected commissioner. Front line policing must be maintained if not increased, believes Mr. Morris, if necessary by means of reducing bureaucracy. As one whose family is proudly Cornish and whose children have been educated in the county, and whose wife’s teaching career was in Devon, Mr. Morris, who has also served on a regional Public Protection committee, believes he has the knowledge and experience to serve his community in this vital new role. “Once elected I will fight to restore front line police numbers in Devon and Cornwall – we cannot and must not let this decline continue” is his promise.

Use your democratic right to vote. Every registered elector should be receiving a card giving details of where to register a vote for the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner prior to the election on 15th November. Those already registered for a postal vote should receive ballot slips by late October. To hear William Morris speak to a local audience and answer questions there will be a public meeting held in the ‘Ploughboy Inn’ on Thursday 18th October at 7.30 p.m

Theft and More Theft

Levels of theft in Devon and Cornwall are on the increase. That's hardly surprising given the enthusiasm with which the accountants at the head of the Police Authority have pursued staff cuts so far. Not that it is their fault. They have been given a tough deck of cards by the current Conservative government which is demanding that the police budget be cut by a fifth. Some 700 officers have been sliced from the force and of 91 thousand incidents reported in 2011/12 some 36,000 were not further investigated. The Police Federation blame the cuts.

It is not all bad news of course. The police we have are doing an excellent job. My own sister's home in Cornwall was burgled last Christmas. Thieves smashed their way in and took the television and dvd. The Police who investigated the incident were magnificent, even offering counselling, something that my sister did not take up, but to someone in a more vulnerable position, such as a parent with young children, or an elderly person would be invaluable. They also later caught the culprits.

The big increase in thefts is from farms and businesses. Gangs that come in from outside the South West have been responsible for an increase in scrap metal thefts from farms. Worse still, farm animals are being stolen. Hundreds of sheep are being stolen overnight. This has got so out of hand that one Dartmoor farmer has taken to dying his sheep orange to deter the rustlers. Poverty poverty is arguably the root cause of an increase in the theft of diesel being siphoned off from lorries. Of the crimes not "followed up" in the past year, 4,000 were thefts from vehicles (there goes that diesel) and 3,700 were burglaries.

The owner of a small car repair garage and haulage business that had suffered diesel theft recently spoke with me to complain about the difficulty of getting crime followed up. We are not just talking about rural crime when we talk theft - Exeter, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Torquay, Truro, Newquay all have car crime and burglary problems too.

How do we deal with this? Crime is at a low base level in Devon and Cornwall. Should we be bothered about the mere 6% RISE in crime levels in the past year? Of course we should. Crime is on the increase in Devon and Cornwall whilst it is decreasing elsewhere.

We need more local policing. I will guarantee the jobs of our force at constable level. I appreciate there must be cuts given the government's obsession with cut-backs but these will not fall on front line policing if and when I am elected. There will be redundancies. There is no alternative. But senior staff will have to bear the brunt of these. Delivery of local policing will need to be more flexible but front line policing will not be axed.