There can be no doubt that a majority of us are losing any feeling of confidence in the way justice is run. There seem to be three main areas – the prevention of crimes, dealing with juvenile offenders and frustration by victims of crime. We are informed of decline in some crime rates but the publics’ perception is that it is in fact increasing and any claimed improvement comes from manipulation rather than hard facts. The types of crime now reported are felt to threaten our culture and the legal trend does not relate to their values. There are feelings of trepidation and uncertainty.
To try to counter these fears we need to examine why these feelings exist. Why, today, do we feel less secure? What is it that we can't get right today that a generation ago it seemed that we could? There is no single explanation for this. Back then, communities were smaller and more standardised than they are now. We have become pluralistic and dissimilar. The influx of immigrants and refugees has brought new perceptions. Old ideas are being increasingly reviewed and revised. Those who did not have a voice now have greater opportunity to make themselves heard. There are increasing numbers of non-government organisations and action groups who well know how to make their presence felt and create difficulties for the Establishment. Politics are no longer the exclusive to the elite. Legislation is badly drafted and hurriedly introduced and falls apart at the first real hurdle in courts. Judges retain their independence in the face of directives from Ministers. Our multi-ethnic society means that there is no longer Mr. Average Britain on the top deck of the Clapham omnibus.
Instead of an upper, middle and lower class system we now have a fragmented society. People – regardless of old class structures – see their own concerns and priorities. This renders it difficult to define, still less achieve, consensus; a state the justice system is very concerned about. Recent publicity about errors made by ‘experts’, faulty judicial decisions and ‘spin’ or ‘sexing-up’ has meant there is a public distrust of all experts and elite bodies. “This government does not represent me or my friends. Is this democracy?” Into this fertile midden comes the media. They have their own agenda. Sensationalism replaces balanced reporting. Bad news sells papers. News has to be condensed into a 15 second sound bite. Crime is reported from the standpoint of ‘end of the world as we know it’. Events that were unknown outside foreign countries or other areas of our own land are now covered in great detail but still in such as way as will attract maximum attention and outrage. The cost of legal action against any part of the media is such that only a fool will take them on.
In the middle of all this are the victims and their relatives. They are hounded by the media. “How does it feel to have had your daughter blown up on a Tube train Mrs Smith” Even if they manage to keep their suffering private, reports will still appear from reporters convinced they know what suffering really is. Think-pieces and columnists dig out the bones and strew them around like cats at refuse bags. There is, for the sufferers, no dignified involvement wherein lies possibility of therapeutic benefit. They are made to appear as onlookers within the legal system with no support for events that have changed their lives forever. They must have better access to proper and timely information. This must also be made available to the media so that we regain our trust that what we are seeing is reliable and unbiased. Official web sites should also carry this information for those who find it hard to accept media brain-washing.
The main attention though, needs to be given to crime prevention. This is where a government can make the best initiatives. The cost of crime – fiscal, environmental and to human beings – is immense. Maximum effort must be devoted to stopping crime in it’s tracks. Right from prevention starting with young persons, through to hardened criminals and up to recidivists.
The community needs to say what makes them scared and what would make them feel secure and safe. Not focus groups or seven out of nine like a dog food commercial. The community. Whatever is then decided upon has to have a multi-headed attack plan. All must play their part – it is not acceptable to act as if paying ones Police rate solves all. Teachers, role models, all the caring professions, community leaders, religious leaders, social services must all be on board. Parents must not think that schools will do their job of socialising their offspring.
This is the part where I have no glib reasoning or answers. It is the hardest part of all. I am convinced it is the answer but I cannot think how to get a unified, all-encompassing response and reaction. Care to help me out?
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