Labour and the Tories have failed on youth justice - Holmes

"It is time to stop talking about reducing the child prison population and time to start taking steps to make it happen," said the Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson. Commenting on today’s [Thursday 3 September] report by the Prison Reform Trust on ways to reduce the number of young people in custody, Paul Holmes said:

“For nearly three decades, attempts by Labour and Tory governments to look tough have led to policies on youth justice that do not work.

“The result is one of the highest rates of child incarceration in the developed world and a sure-fire way of turning troubled kids into adult criminals.

“This excellent report from the Prison Reform Trust outlines international examples from which we must learn. It is time to stop talking about reducing the child prison population and time to start taking steps to make it happen.”

Labour’s obsession with sounding tough has left prisons dangerously overcrowded - Holmes

"These deeply troubling figures highlight the chronic failure of this Government’s prison policy," said the Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson. Commenting on today’s [Tuesday 25 August] report by the Prison Reform Trust which reveals the 20 most overcrowded jails in England and Wales, Paul Holmes said:

“These deeply troubling figures highlight the chronic failure of this Government’s prison policy.

“Labour’s obsession with sounding tough on crime has left our prisons dangerously overcrowded with sky-high re-offending rates.

“Ministers must realise the bankruptcy of their approach and focus instead on what works. This means moving drug addicts and prisoners with mental health problems into more appropriate accommodation and treatment and investing in alternatives such as restorative justice.”

Holmes: 100 stabbings a week under Labour demonstrate scale of Britain’s knife culture

Nearly 50,000 people have been taken to hospital after being stabbed since 1997, according to figures highlighted by the Liberal Democrats.

The figures, contained in an answer to a Parliamentary Question, show that:

• Since Labour came to power, 49,837 people have been treated in hospitals in England and Wales for stabbings, including 4,510 children
• In the same period, 31,454 people have been treated for injuries caused by blunt objects and 13,145 for gun shot wounds
• The number of children being treated in hospital as a result of being assaulted by a sharp object has increased by 71.7% between 1997 and 2007
• In the same period, hospital admissions for adults with gun shot wounds has risen by 63%; for assaults by sharp objects by 44%; and for assaults by blunt objects by 27%

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Paul Holmes said:

"The appalling fact that 50,000 people have been stabbed in the last decade demonstrates the scale of Britain's knife crime culture.

"Ministers tell us that crime is falling, but these figures show that serious attacks using weapons and requiring hospital treatment are on the rise.

"Hospital data is much more reliable because it's free from the meddling hand of Whitehall and cuts through all the problems with crimes going unreported to the police.

"We are locked in a vicious circle where teenagers don't feel safe on our streets and therefore more of them carry knives, which in turn just fuels the spiral of knife crime.

"Instead of spending billions on unworkable and unnecessary ID cards, the Government should spend the money on actually making people safer by putting more police on our streets."