Crime is one of the biggest issues facing the country. It is too high and too many people don't feel safe - in their own homes and in their town centres. The Liberal Democrats want to cut crime to make you safer.

Whilst previous governments focused on talking tough on crime the Liberal Democrats remain committed to meaningful reform of the police service and to putting criminal justice policy on an evidence-based footing. These proposals were outlined in our policy paper: Trusted, Professional and Effective – British Policing at its Best.
 
While in power, Labour created 3,600 new criminal offences, left our prisons bursting at the seems, and launched a legislative assault on the civil liberties of the British people  which damaged public faith in the police who were duty bound to enforce it. Liberal Democrats will work with police to repair the relationship between the police force and the public by making policing much more responsive to communities’ priorities.
 
Instead of using prison and sentencing as a proxy for real action on crime, the Liberal Democrats believe in using alternative measures that are proven to reduce re-offending. These include community justice panels, the nationwide use of restorative justice and rigorous community punishments as an alternative to short-term prison sentences.

Liberal Democrats have long supported the need for greater transparency and accountability within the police. We believe that policing should have the support of the entire community and be responsive to the communities’ priorities and concerns. We want to ensure that the candidates for the Police and Crime Commissioners are the very best people to achieve this.

This sometimes means that some local parties will be fielding a candidate when they have the best person for the job. However, this will not happen everywhere. We do not feel that party politics always provides the best way to achieve the goals for which the Police and Crime Commissioners were set up. That is why the party wants to give individual Liberal Democrats, including parliamentarians, the ability to add their support to candidates who do not stand on party political tickets.

 

More information can be found by clicking on certain bullet points within each document