Topic: Law & Order

Sometimes you find an error in a book so early and brazen that you barely feel the need to read further, and if you do, everything after that is diminished by the awareness of the author's bias or irrationality. A classic example is Marx's…

What is the best way to improve the performance of our judges?  Well in typical New Labour fashion it seems the answer is to set target levels and dumb down.  It is being reported that judges’ performance in court could well be monitored by…

I listened this morning to Nick Ross and James Brokenshire (Tory spokesman on Home Affairs) arguing about crime statistics on Radio 4. Brokenshire claims that the statistics show that violent crime is on the increase. Ross accuses him of…

Do you think the Government's crime policy has come a little unstuck? Or perhaps it never worked in the first place. Either way, you'd have thought they would think something was up from this example alone... Thirty one prison sentences…

We have, to a certain degree, an anti-social drinking problem in this country.  The solution?  Ban it.  But what are the real causes of this problem?  It doesn't matter - ban it.  We are told today that nearly 200 MPs now want the…

From today's Times: "-Police are being sent skateboarding in an attempt to cultivate a “cooler” image to improve their relations with young people. Hampshire police are sending officers to workshops, attended by up to 30 youngsters aged…

While on the subject of government targets, there are according to police figures on-the-spot fines for crimes such as being drunk and disorderly, destroying property and shoplifting are being issued at a rate of one every three minutes…

Home Office Watch Blog has pointed me in the direction of this interesting piece on Computing.com. Computing pursued a Freedom of Information request with regard to consultancy and the new ID card system. It turns out the government has…

Another government policy has been exposed for its ineffectiveness and its lack of proper analysis in to the problem before implementation.  The Commons public accounts committee has reported that ASBOs are being handed out with little…

He is officially back.  Jack Straw that is.  He has come up with an ingenious solution to prison overcrowding problem too.  Instead of building our way out of the problem - i.e. building more prison space - we should just not send so many…

A couple of days ago I said the two worst departments to get your hands on as a Secretary of State have to be the Department of Health and the new Ministry of Justice. Well, in the first full day, what a surprise but it is the DoH and MofJ…

It comes as no surprise today to learn how prolific the Labour government has been when it comes to introducing legislation. The Blair premiership has seen an average of 2,685 new laws introduced each year! That is one every three-and-a…

Reports of another government failing IT project.  This time it is the sex offender computer system.  It is being hit by delays due to failed software tests.  In the meantime it is the public who are most at risk. Nick Herbert, the shadow…

The department described by outgoing Secretary of State John Reid as "not fit for purpose" is paying out £3.6m in bonuses to its staff. The Home Office, which has recently been split up as it could not cope with the work load, feel one in…

If ever proof were needed that the more the government intervene the more damage they actually do here it is. The government think that the best way to improve policing is tell the policemen exactly how to their job. This has led to…

The proposed split of the Home Office is fast approaching.  In a department that has just taken its latest victim with John Reid announcing his retirement from front bench politics at the weekend (nothing to do with the fact the Brown would…

"-Private security staff who operate prison vans will decide from today whether young adults awaiting trial in London are mentally strong enough to survive in the toughest prisons-." I had to read that sentence a few times before I realised…

Congratulations to Dr Crippen for his massive success in getting the deficient NHS recruitment IT system shut down. Whilst it is too late for all those people who have had their personal details disclosed and for the tax payers who have had…

It has been reported today that there are 266 different legislative powers in which the state has a right to enter our homes - and we're not just talking about Policemen with search warrants. The over legislating, under thinking, government…

A new report published today has shown what we already knew - the government has failed on its drug policy. It seems that the more the government has intervened, the worse the problem has got. "-The prices of the principal drugs in Britain…

The Home Office is right up there with the best at wasting our money. Its Secretary of State has even described it as "not fit for purpose". But that was before tough, no nonsense John Reid got his hands on it and sorted the whole shambles…

And so to the latest attack on motorists and the Government's obsession with giving more power to the least appropriate people. A Department for Transport's feasibility study into "pay as you drive" includes proposals to use debt collectors…

What is going on in the Treasury? They are ditching plans to promote good behaviour among "young people". The scheme that was to bribe the worst behaved kids on our streets with a £25 gift voucher for good behaviour. Has common sense…

Ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law. Enforcement of the law (and therefore social order) breaks down if this simple rule is not upheld. Is there not, then, a moral obligation on our legislators, enforcement-agencies, and judiciary…