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Wednesday, 28 April 2010 05:29 |
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Dear Kevin
Please accept my apologies for the delay in coming back to you – I have just picked up your posting to my Facebook page which you posted late last night. I did not however receive an email from you so I’m not sure what happened there (
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is the correct one).
I am sure you can appreciate that as an election address is only a few hundred words it is not possible to put full detail on the complex issues and policy areas raised as this would result in a very narrow one policy election address.
However, I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss issues in more depth so will address your broad points as follows:
1)Tagging: I do not dispute the guilt of this particular lady but have used this case to highlight the inconsistency of type and term of sentencing we have under the current sentencing guidelines in place which causes concern to many people and reduces faith in the judicial system and process.
In an article in the Guardian this month (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/05/judges-sentencing-andrew-ashworth) the head of the Sentancing Advisory Panel highlights this problem by saying "The whole idea of guidelines has been undermined. The purpose of guidelines is to steer judges along particular channels but the new legislation is destructive because it hardly binds judges at all. It is possible that the new legislation will lead to the sort of idiosyncratic sentencing that used to cause people such worry.”
2)European Charter on Human Rights: the legal system used in the UK (although there are variations in Scotland) is Habeas Corpus also known as Common Law or case law. In the majority of EU Member States Civil Law is used (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_systems).
The integration and implementation of the ECHR unfortunately did not sufficiently anticipate the effects of differences in legal systems within the EU and our precedent driven approach which has led in some cases to abuses of the legislation and a departure from the spirit and intention of the Act.
Our policy is to draw up a new Bill of Rights incorporating both the ECHR and UN Charter on Human Rights but in a way which is appropriate to our own legal system. Every person, no matter their citizenship or status, deserves protection of their fundamental rights under the law but the current Act is falling short and causing unnecessary tensions in our communities.
No system is perfect which is why it is important that we try to get this important area right for the future.
3)Bail: great upset is caused when offenders on bail for a serious crime go on to commit another serious crime while awaiting trial and people find it difficult to understand how bail is granted again after a breach in previous conditions.
One example of such a case is http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/22/teenager-sentenced-matalan-manager-stabbing .
Probation services are overstretched and in some areas monitoring of everyone on bail or released on licence is an impossible task with current resourcing and structure. A full review and overhaul of both funding and the way money is spent in this area is a cornerstone for any change in approach to bail.
Tightening the legal ramifications of breaching bail conditions will not be a panacea for this problem but is a good place to start. It will send a message both to those who currently view their bail conditions as optional with no consequences, and to reassure the public that bail will be treated more seriously than it currently is and that charges for serious violent/crime will err towards automatic bail refusal rather than an assumption it will be granted.
4)Immigration: Illegal immigration has far reaching consequences from people trafficking to forced labour, and organised crime to terrorism. These are issues of community safety but more importantly than this they are humanitarian and moral issues we have a duty to address.
What they are not is an issue of race.
Our current lax border security enabled 18 Chinese men and women to be smuggled into this Country only to lose their lives doing forced labour in Morecombe Bay to ‘repay’ the people traffickers who brought them here.
There are an unknown number of people currently being forced into prostitution in towns and cities across the UK including children. Organised crime can have an apparently benign face in the illegal DVDs being sold in a local pub or can result in more serious smuggling and other crime. Often the main people to blame for these gangs are British people allowed to exploit illegal immigrants because it is relatively easy for them to get people across our borders.
Improving border security will help prevent more people being trafficked here who are without the protection of the law or able to access healthcare or other support because they are unseen.
I would hope that you would agree that when looked at in more detail this is a policy area rightly included on my election address.
5)Compensation: I do not advocate causing unnecessary suffering to anyone, whether in jail or out, nor do I think it is acceptable when healthcare or policy fails to help the people who need support.
The growing ‘compensation culture’ has resulted in certain types of lawyers moving the focus of some legal or policy challenges away from getting something wrong put right to a purely financially driven aim. It has also resulted in increasing health and safety and other restrictions by Organisations simply trying to avoid being sued rather than trying to improve the service or access they provide. Perhaps worst of all are the reduced freedoms of parents to be able to take part in activities with their children which detracts from society rather than improves it.
6)You were partly right about the Daily Mail (!) but in fact I read 5 newspapers daily (Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, Times) to ensure I get as wide a range of opinion as possible. In addition I read local papers (South Wales Echo and Glamorgan Gazette) weekly.
If you have any other questions please feel free to give me a call on 07775 086288.
Kind regards, Emma
PS I am glad you making use of my Facebook page - I thought this would be the easiest way to keep people up to date during the campaign.
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