Fear of crime blights the lives of many people, particularly the most vulnerable. The state should offer all its citizens equal and adequate protection. Our approach is rooted in the belief that the best way to beat crime in the medium and long term is to have effective policies to tackle its causes.
Overall, crime has fallen in Ealing by a minuscule 0.4% in the past two years, although we have one of the lowest crime rates in West London. However, of those crimes on the increase in the area, domestic violence increased by 16% and residential burglaries increased by 3% in Ealing. We will concentrate on cutting these areas of crime down.
We will stop the closure of local police stations and push for more police officers "on the beat" and for more resources to reduce the administrative burden on police officers, and free up their time to fight crime.
We will reinforce the police by encouraging more part-time community police officers, establishing a new Community Safety Force and retain retired police officers in a back-up rôle.
We will spend more money on crime prevention such as CCTV cameras and better street-lighting in town centres and crime "hotspots" to restore public confidence, reduce the threat of crime and improve public safety.
Nuisance crimes like graffiti, fly tipping and abandoned vehicles are on the increase in Ealing and make people feel unsafe. We will push for improved enforcement and put increased resources into graffiti removal and the removal of fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles.
We will introduce Anti-social Behaviour Contracts (ABCs), run with the police, which have been successfully used in Liberal Democrat run Islington to reduce anti-social behaviour on estates.
Police figures show that people from ethnic minorities suffer a much higher incidence of violent assault, and recent surveys show very high levels of violence and harassment against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.There is not enough support for ethnic minorities and gay, lesbian and bisexual communities; existing hate crimes legislation is not implemented adequately. Homophobic offences rose in Ealing by 46% in the past year.
Liberal Democrats believe all citizens should enjoy equal treatment and equal protection under the law, and that all citizens should be free from fear of violence and intimidation. Action must be taken to build confidence in the police and other judicial institutions among all communities, to enable the police to do their job more effectively and to make it easier for members of minority communities who are victims of crime to report such incidents. In particular, we will campaign for the establishment of police hate crime investigation units to co-ordinate information and action against all victims of bigotry. Police forces must be more representative of, and effective within, the communities they serve through more active recruitment from all the diverse communities.
Liberal Democrats are campaigning for realistic and responsible reform of the drugs laws. In particular, we will encourage police use of roadside sobriety tests on suspected drug-affected drivers combined with a publicity campaign on the effects of drugs on driving ability, and increased resources for drugs treatment programmes.
We support a test of the policing policy in Lambeth which has increased focus on arresting hard drug dealers instead of cannabis users.
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Published by Martin Tod on behalf of Ealing Liberal Democrats all at 23 Fairlawn Court, Acton Lane, London W4 5EE. Printed and hosted by freenetname, 113 - 123 Upper Richmond Road, London SW15 2TL