Where to now was the title of a NACRO conference at the British Library Conference Centre on October 30. Our regular writer Ken Rogers was most impressed with the speakers.
Marcus Roberts raised concerns about the UK being the prison capital of Europe. Now the overcrowded prisons house more than 72,000. Dr Roberts also voiced concerns at the high level of social deprivation and ‘home problems’ within the UK. He painted a gloomy picture stating that in run down neighbourhoods people were twice as likely to become victims of crime. The homeless are 30 times likely to be victims of crime. For the most disadvantaged and marginalised, violence is a day-to-day reality.
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He further discussed issues as that a third of all men had a conviction by the age of 30 years. As for Government’s CCTV support, is CCTV investment justifiable when there is a shortage of funds for child protection teams’
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The gap between crime reporting and statistical reality is striking. As I have stated in Professional Security many crimes are not reported due to police station closures and the non-availability of police.
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Next speaker was Claire Fox, Director of the Institute of Ideas. Before this conference I had never heard of the above institute! Claire referred to the various agencies not performing in their role and that the multi-agency approach meant more harassing of the public. That housing officers now looked for evidence of anti-social behaviour and not looking after the homeless. Claire Fox has a point.<br>
Dr Ben Bowling stated that there should be more interest in safety on the roads as many more are killed on the roads than are murdered. A point that I had already considered and acted upon as community safety co-ordinator.
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Prof Jock Young referring to crime statistics stated crime reduction was already happening when the present Government came to power. Referring to New York crime figures; other cities had done just as well in the USA with falling crime. That the young given any job under the Government scheme was not satisfactory and encouraged criminal activity.
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Then followed a question time panel chaired by Mark Easton, Home Affairs Editor, Channel 4 news. In answer to whether CCTV was worth the investment, panel member Annette Brooke, Liberal Democrat MP, replied yes, it made people feel safe. Dominic Grieve, Shadow Minister for Justice, said ‘CCTV has a very powerful benefit taking back control of town centres from criminal elements’. John Denham, Home Office Minister stated: ‘It reduces the fear of crime and if I had another £0.25billion available it would be scooped up towards CCTV systems.’
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Speaking after the conference to Dominic Grieve, a Conservative MP with a listening ear, I discovered he had excellent knowledge of the criminal justice system, community safety and security issues. The last speaker of the conference was a delightful Prof Beatrix Campbell who lectured on masculinity and crime. I did not appreciate how interested I would be in such a subject. The professor stated we had an impoverished society and asked how do we police such a society. Referring to the Bulger case she said that the children who committed the crime were ‘children in need’. Then discussed what was needed to stop the boys on that journey to hell. That many in the community failed to report or assist or protect vulnerable members ‘ nobody was doing anything to protect such communities. Beatrix discussed many other issues of serious concern. I hope Government receive a copy of this interesting and most informative lecture and act upon it. I had an enjoyable drink and discussion with this most interesting lady after the conference. A first class conference. NACRO have come along way in recent years and deal with issues that are of major concern to many of the poorest members of society.
