I stand because I am from the West Country, and I am concerned. I am concerned about those of us who are vulnerable, the very young and the very old, the disabled, the mentally ill, even the unemployed. The vulnerable in our society, indeed in any society, are less able to secure, for themselves and of themselves, those rights and freedoms we all hold dear.
What applies to the young, to the old, and applies to the vulnerable, is true for us all of course. Just because we are more able to stand up for ourselves does not mean that we do not care for the same principles, the same rights. Chief amongst which is the right to freedom from fear.
Freedom from fear
Freedom from fear was one of Roosevelt’s four great freedoms, the other three being freedom of expression, freedom from want, and freedom of religion. We all have a right to freedom from fear. Freedom from the fear that something might happen to our children on their way home from school or if we allow them out to play. This is not the way things should be. Children always used to roam free. It is neither healthy nor wholesome that we should have to be as concerned as we are for their safety in a society in which the predatory is fast becoming par for the course.
And this goes beyond concern about child abuse. Our children are vulnerable to the excesses of their own peers in a world in which drugs, alcohol and sex are marketed at a frenetic pace to the very young, both deliberately and inadvertently. Plus there are more mundane threats, such as the sheer volume of fast moving traffic for children to dodge in this vibrant world, bursting so at the seams, in which we all live and breathe in this 21st century.
The old of course have their own unique concerns, some of which, like neglect, also impact the very young. Both social groups are vulnerable. Both are our responsibility. A society that fails to protect the very old and the very young is not civilised. Indeed the most primitive tribe in the wilderness is more civilised than we are if we leave our vulnerable prey to predatory violence, abuse and fear and they do not.
Drug and alcohol abuse
The South West has the highest number of registered heroin users per capita in the United Kingdom. In part this is what some call “end of the line syndrome” because our environment is attractive and our climate comfortable. And who can blame people from up country for finding the West Country a good place to be? But the prevalence of drug abuse is none the less cause for concern. What is more concerning perhaps, is the fact that the South West has little or no provision for rehab from drug and alcohol abuse and almost zero provision for detox. What sort of people are we? Do we not care?
Then there is the ease with which the young gain access to alcohol, with cheap drink being sold to the under sixteens by some less scrupulous wine merchants; and we all know those few rogue city centre pubs that willingly sell alcohol to the underage. Why is this permitted?
Anyone who has ever visited a prison will know full well that most, indeed almost all, violent crime is committed by those under the influence of alcohol, or seeking to obtain drugs. Nobody is going to worry too much about an old man with a spliff or a holiday maker who’s too fond of a glass of cider. But there are limits. Heroin withdrawal produces very aggressive symptoms. And young men in a crowd tanked up on alcohol become doubly dangerous to the vulnerable, indeed to all of us.
Violent crime
And violent crime is deeply disturbing; arguably more disturbing than almost any other form of crime. Which is why I believe the Police Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall should make addressing street crime top priority. I have been much impressed, as so many have, by the policy of zero tolerance that has transformed New York. However was zero tolerance the cause of the fall in their crime rate or was there an underlying trend that accounts for New York’s transformation? This is a question that needs further examination and one which I intend to address. Could the same be done for Britain’s major cities and resort towns? Would that mean accepting a police state? Our rights and freedoms are, or should be, sacred. But perhaps we should become tougher on some petty crimes like disorderly behaviour and vandalism if it can be shown that such a policy would ensure that the more brutal crimes of violence are less prevalent.
Social justice
Blair once famously talked of being ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’. Words are cheap of course. What counts is action. And undoubtedly the causes of crime in the South West deserve close examination. The West Country has the dubious privilege of having pockets of child poverty that rank among the worst in the country. Does poverty equate with crime? The parallel is a little trite and in any case gives rise to ethically questionable inferences. But clearly any society in which unemployment is rife and investment in infrastructure inadequate will be its own sort of pressure cooker. And there has been precious little investment in industry that might bring solid well paid year round employment here in the South West. We cherish our tourism but it is asking too much too expect our hard pressed tourist industry to sustain, of itself, a vibrant economy. Our farming is under pressure; our fisheries more so; our mining industry a thing of the past, and economic development simply inadequate. Is this a matter that should concern the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner? Absolutely yes; the Police Commissioner has a duty to draw attention to any and all factors that directly or indirectly impact crime in the South West, and to do so loudly and persistently.
Human dignity
Essentially it is a matter of human dignity. There is so much more to the phrase ‘human dignity’ than mere human rights. And the need to sustain human dignity is a matter that should concern us all because it affects us all from cradle to grave. In a sense, a very real sense, it is because of the need for human dignity that we maintain a Police Force in the first place. We need to be able to walk free, free from the threat of robbery or violence, but also free from abuse and fear. That is why we cherish the rule of law - as well as, of course and importantly, to maintain our rights and freedoms.
Rights of man
Which brings us back to those basic human rights, what the archetypal British philosopher, Tom Paine, once called the ‘Rights of Man’. These include the right to protest and free assembly, free speech and freedom of expression. These include the right to live and work in dignity. These include the right to walk free in the streets of our towns and villages without concern about the need to watch our backs no matter the time of the day or night. The police are a bulwark to protect these rights and indeed all our rights. The police are not here to fill forms and shuffle paperwork. They are here to keep our society free, to keep our children safe, and to protect life and property from threat of any kind. It is my intention to make sure they are enabled to do just that.
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