Spend money on crime prevention instead of prisons Chris Grayling told

This is the headline from today’s on-line The Independent.

Their Deputy Political Editor, Nigel Morris, tells us that the Commons Justice select committee’s report Crime reduction policies: a co-ordinated approach? is a ‘damning assessment of the Ministry of Justice’s priorities’.  The report urges the Treasury to investigate whether taxpayers’ money is being used effectively to reduce crime.

The committee’s report suggests that the money could be better spent on support for first-time single parents, as well as schemes helping people with mental health and alcohol problems.  The Commons Justice select committee also questioned how much credit the Government can take from continuing falls in crime rates.

I haven’t read the select committee’s report in full (it would probably take me days), but I did read some of the oral evidence given to the committee and in particular that given by the academic witnesses: Professor Cynthia McDougall University of York, Professor Gloria Laycock University College London, Professor David Farrington Cambridge University, and Professor Stephen Farrall University of Sheffield.

This was a fascinating read and if there was one thing that really stood out for me it was that we should better fund and use science research and problem solving in our approaches to prevent and reduce crime and not base our crime reduction policies on ‘opinion’.

A recommended read

Source The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/spend-money-on-crime-prevention-instead-of-prisons-chris-grayling-told-9563240.html

The Academics’ evidence: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmjust/307/140121.htm