David Davis has given his own take on Tory leader David Cameron’s controversial speech about hood-wearing youths.
Mr Davis said: "The papers claim David Cameron wants us to hug a hoodie. Well I support that; the only difference between David and me is that I might just hug a little harder and longer."
He said that an incoming Conservative government will develop plans to get repeat offenders off the "carousel of crime".
In his speech to the Tory Party’s Bournemouth conference, the Shadow Home Secretary said half of all crime was committed by ex-convicts, and he said action was needed to break this cycle – with improved education, drug rehabilitation, and housing schemes.
"While the criminal is in prison we should be providing basic education so he can get a job. We’ve got to get him off drugs so he can hold down that job. And we have to encourage his family to help him go straight," he said.
While a Conservative administration would make prisons tougher not softer, Mr Davis said: "Our responsibility can’t end when the criminal gets out. At the moment he’s got to deal with a bewildering variety of different agencies – housing, health and employment. So he gives up, and he goes back to crime. Our approach will be to encourage social enterprises to give real support to ex-prisoners. These social enterprises can succeed where the state fails because they offer one-on-one support: to get ex-prisoners into jobs and homes; to keep them clear of drugs and alcohol; and to stop them falling between the cracks of state failure."
Mr Davis said the tough but tender Conservative approach to "stopping criminals being criminals" would bring benefits to the rest of society, including the poorest people who suffer most. "We have also got to do a lot more to stop young people getting onto the carousel of crime in the first place," the Shadow Home Secretary said.
