Tony Blair's "Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime":

A Retrospective Reflection and Forward Thinking for Keir Starmer's Projected Victory.

A Time for Optimism or simply Realism?

Today's influential poll predicts a landslide victory for Labour with 194 seats, surpassing Tony Blair's in 1997 and second only to Stanley Baldwin's victory in winning a 210 majority in 1924.? ??

This moment is a good time for reflection. Tony Blair's Labour Party swept to power in 1997 with a landslide victory, riding on a wave of optimism and promising transformative change. One of Blair's defining mantras was "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.” This pledge resonated with a public weary of rising crime rates and social disorder. Alongside the often-acrimonious debate of “Zero Tolerance” versus “Problem Oriented Policing” (which I must admit, I was part of[1]), there was a considerable appetite for change. During this promising epoch, my nine other regional colleagues and I were appointed as inaugural Home Office Regional Directors to lead our teams in the Regional Government Offices. We were appointed with an exciting Reducing Crime and Enhancing Community Safety Agenda in support of the (then) new Statutory Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships set up in all 376 Local Authority Areas.?? The ten of us were warmly welcomed by the newly appointed Home Secretary, the Rt Honourable Jack Straw, who, I recall fondly, was both warm and engaged in the crime and community safety agenda. The meeting in his office was optimistic.

This is also a good time for forward thinking. As the election gathers pace, I will post further reflections on policing in the 1990s and inject some thoughts on how to learn the lessons from Blair's approach's successes and shortcomings. The aim is to bridge the massive funding and confidence gap that has emerged in almost three decades of austerity and lacklustre progress between the first and the potentially second landslides.

As Keir Starmer and the Labour Party look poised for a bigger landslide victory in 2024, examining the successes and pitfalls of Blair’s approach to crime and justice is enlightening, drawing lessons that could inform Starmer's policies and strategies.

Blair’s Approach: Successes and Shortcomings

Blair’s commitment to tackling crime was two-pronged: a robust response to criminal behaviour and addressing the underlying social issues contributing to crime. This dual approach led to several key initiatives and legislative measures. I will briefly explore three suggested successes and three shortcomings.

Successes:

1. Crime Reduction: I remember the exponential increase in crime rates in the early 1990s. During Blair’s tenure, crime rates in the UK fell significantly. Enhanced policing, better coordination among law enforcement agencies, and community policing initiatives contributed to this decline.
2. Youth Offending Teams (YOTs): Established to prevent youth crime, YOTs brought together professionals from various sectors to work with young offenders, addressing their behaviour and the social factors contributing to their delinquency.
3. Social Reforms: Initiatives like Sure Start, New Deal for Communities, and Neighbourhood Renewal aimed to provide early support to communities and families in deprived areas, tackle social exclusion, and provide a safety net to prevent future criminal behaviour by tackling those at risk of offending and in responding to interrelated social causes of crime.

Shortcomings:

1. Overemphasis on Punishment and Enforcement: Critics argue that Blair’s policies leaned too heavily on punitive measures, a factor that was characteristic of the harsh ‘Zero Tolerance’ approach to policing, advocated by some in the UK influenced by the crime strategy of the same name in New York City. The introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) often criminalised minor infractions and disproportionately affected marginalised communities and vulnerable individuals. Quite starkly, the worst of New Public Management (NPM) led to targets that measured what could be measured rather than what matters. My favourite quotation from that moment onwards, and reused on many occasions, originated from Albert Einstein: “Count what Counts and not what can be Counted)[2]
2. Prison Overcrowding: A tough stance on crime led to a significant increase in the prison population, exacerbating issues of overcrowding and raising concerns about the effectiveness of incarceration as a deterrent. The prison riots of the 1980s became a risk once more.? I remembered my time behind a shield as a Police Sergeant as I entered the staircase leading to one of the landings in Bristol Prison in 1986 with ten members of a Police Support Unit.? We didn’t want a repeat of this.
3. Neglect of Root Causes: While Blair’s rhetoric emphasised addressing the causes of crime, in practice, many social programs needed to be funded or prioritised, limiting their long-term impact. I was given a ￡34 million budget to develop Community Safety and Community Engagement initiatives in the East Midlands Region, working with five police forces and forty local authorities. The funding was welcome, but (as with the more recent levelling of funding) the allocation marginalised communities that could have benefited more strongly.

A Manifesto for Keir Starmer on Crime and Justice

As Keir Starmer prepares for a potential landslide victory in 2024, he faces a political landscape similar to but also different from Blair's era. Starmer can draw several lessons from Blair's experience to shape a more balanced and practical approach to crime and justice.

1.??? Balance Punitive and Preventive Measures:

Starmer should aim for a balanced approach that prioritises immediate responses to crime and long-term preventive measures. Drawing from Blair's emphasis on punishment, Starmer's policies should ensure that interventions are focused on rehabilitation and support rather than solely punitive measures.

2. Invest in Social Infrastructure:

A genuine commitment to addressing the causes of crime requires substantial investment in social infrastructure. This commitment includes funding for education, community cohesion, mental health services, housing, and employment opportunities. By creating a strong social safety net, Starmer can more effectively tackle the root causes of crime, perhaps 'flipping' the 1997 mantra, ?to read "Tough on the Causes of Crime will Reduce Crime."

3. Evidence-Based Policy Making:

Starmer should support policies based on strong evidence and research. It's not just about asking, "What works?" but also about understanding why it works and in what circumstances. By realistically evaluating the results of criminal justice interventions and being open to adaptation based on what works, why, and in what circumstances, we can avoid ineffective or dysfunctional policies.

4. Community Engagement:

Engaging with communities and building trust between the public and law enforcement is crucial. Starmer's approach should prioritise community policing, coordination across different sectors, and collaborative efforts to address local issues, drawing on the successful aspects of Blair's community-oriented initiatives. As former Home Office Directors, we were deeply involved in developing community-focused policies and strategies. However, our efforts were somewhat limited by the strong preference for "CompStat-type" Performance Control Regimes in contrast to the more collaborative leadership style.? Starmer should focus on counting what counts.

5. Addressing Systemic Inequalities:

A forward-thinking crime and justice policy must recognise and address systemic inequalities contributing to crime. Systemic change involves combating racial discrimination, economic disparity, and social exclusion, ensuring all communities have equal opportunities and support.

Conclusion

Tony Blair’s “Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” mantra brought significant changes to the UK’s approach to crime and justice, with notable successes and critical shortcomings.

As Keir Starmer gears up for a projected landslide victory in 2024, he can learn from Blair’s experience. By balancing punitive and preventive measures, investing in social infrastructure, prioritising evidence-based policies, engaging with communities, and addressing systemic inequalities, Starmer can forge a more just and practical approach to crime that resonates with the public and delivers sustainable results.

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[1] More of this in a subsequent post

[2] ?Italicised for emphasis. ?See “A post-pandemic paradigm for public leaders? “- The Selfless Leader. https://selflessleader.org/global-opportunities/

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