CRIME PREVENTION


Keeping it local


There are many in both central and local government who think that the debate over how to deal with offenders has been dominated for far too long by a concentrated powerhouse in Westminster, reports Richard Mackillican


T


he last Labour government was renowned for running a highly centralised


operation.


With a new government in power, many are hoping that will come to an end, particularly in relation to social problems and crime.


Gavin Poole


“The localism debate has been raging for a while now and can be quite easily distorted,” says Gavin Poole, managing director at the Centre for Social Justice.


“Generally, when someone talks about taking a localist approach towards dealing with crime and punishment, people seem to think that this will mean that all power is to be devolved from Westminster, but that is not the case at all.


“Quite clearly there is an aspect of central government involvement which needs to be maintained, but at the same time it is crucial that local government is given the power and discretion to flex and change priorities to fit their needs at any one point.


“This will enable them to not only use tax payers’ money more effectively but also provide better outcomes.


“It is quite obvious that the city of Norwich will have very different criminal justice needs from London or Manchester, for example, and although there have been some great ideas coming from central government over the last few years, there still


Jul/Aug 10


needs to be flexibility for local government to use their funds according to their needs.


“The problem is that anyone who espouses any ideas like this have been branded localist, but what we are asking for is a national set of standards which every government body upholds, which will then allow for local discretion in how those standards are upheld.


“Of course, if this did happen, you could be accused of instigating a postcode lottery but as long as basic requirements are met, this would give local government the capability to deal with its own acute needs, whether they be drug or gang related for example.


“This is still something which people are trying to work through to see how it could work and just the right balance could be achieved.”


Another question this debate raises is around the capability of local government to carry out this role, given that it would require both resources and time to implement; two things which local authorities have very little of at the moment.


“If a more localist approach were to be adopted, would those councils still have to look to central government for advice and support?


“This is why I think that there needs to be a gradual movement away from looking up to central government all of the time and for local authorities to be more independent in their thinking and to take more responsibility for action taken within their areas.


“This is a challenge which I feel that councils will have to stand up to in the coming years and will also depend on the types of councillors who are doing the work.


“I live in quite a rural area so there would be a question of how do you attract the right kind of people to lead those councils and make those difficult decisions.


“This means looking at how much we pay local councillors and asking ourselves whether we feel that they are being rewarded enough for the work which they do.”


It would be very hard for a government to convince voters that those in charge of councils should be paid even more in view of the current economic situation and the public feeling around public sector wages and pensions.


“At the moment, suggesting an increase in pay could be politically difficult but we need to look much further than just the moment and begin


pse 21 considering different ideas.


“I was at a meeting which looked at how politicians are perceived by the public using data collected by Ipsos Mori and local councillors came off rather well and did much better than national politicians.


“Perhaps that is because they are based within their own communities. For example, everyone will probably know of a councillor or their children will go to school with those of a local councillor.”


It is also local politicians who are best placed to see the needs of their own communities and to see where change needs to happen.


“As far as criminal justice is concerned, who is best to make the decision on policing in an area? Is it someone sat in the Home Office coming up with all of the indicators which local authorities have to comply with or is it someone who can take local discretion and say ‘I don’t really need to tackle gang issues, simply because we don’t have them in our area but we do need to tackle anti-social behaviour and drunkenness.’


“Local leaders will know what the local issues are and therefore will probably have the best idea of how to solve them.”


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