MURPHY INTERVIEW EXPOSES LABOUR KNIFE CRIME POLICY AS MISLEADING FANTASY

MURPHY INTERVIEW EXPOSES LABOUR KNIFE CRIME POLICY AS MISLEADING FANTASY

UK LABOUR REJECTS SCOTTISH PARTY’S FLAGSHIP POLICY

A television interview by Jim Murphy has further exposed the lack of evidence behind Scottish Labour’s flagship policy of mandatory prison sentences for carrying a knife, after the Scottish Secretary was unable to explain the costs behind the policy and claimed that “we’ve no idea” how many additional prison places would be required if the policy were implemented.

During an appearance on STV’s Face to Face programme last night, Murphy also made the outlandish claim that the introduction of mandatory sentencing would cause knife crime to plummet “overnight”.

Scottish Labour’s flagship policy is opposed by professional and expert opinion in the criminal justice field and has been rejected by the party elsewhere in the UK, appearing nowhere in Labour’s UK manifesto.

Stewart Maxwell MSP said today that Murphy’s performance had revealed once again that Labour are trying to mislead voters with the policy. The SNP MSP and member of Holyrood’s Justice Committee said:

“Murphy’s performance exposed the level of deceit behind Labour’s knife crime claims. He repeatedly dodged questions about the costs of their policy and the numbers of new prison places it would require – although the experts have already confirmed that over 1,000 additional people would be sent to prison each year under Labour.

“Murphy’s claim that mandatory sentencing would have “a massive effect on deterrence” and would cause knife crime to drop “overnight” is utter fantasy. The fact is that all of the expert professional opinion says the opposite.

“The Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police told the Justice Committee that it was 'misleading' to try and persuade people that mandatory sentences will have a big impact. His counterpart from Strathclyde Police, the head of the Violence Reduction Unit and Victim Support Scotland are equally sceptical - what does Murphy think he knows that these experts don't? Can he produce any evidence that mandatory sentences would reduce knife crime?

“Even the slogan 'carry a knife - go to jail' is misleading. Labour has already conceded that discretion will remain with judges. That doesn't sound very mandatory to me.

“Labour in the rest of the UK have rejected mandatory sentencing – Murphy himself is standing for a Parliament which will not pursue this policy in England and Wales. If it’s such a successful policy, why did Labour not implement it when they were in power in Scotland and why not implement it now for the whole of the UK?

“This is Scottish Labour’s flagship policy and it is utterly discredited, rejected by criminal justice professionals, victims’ representatives and their own colleagues. It is based on a mixture of fantasy, hypocrisy and deceit.

“Murphy is only the latest Labour politician to duck and dive and fail to answer the very serious questions about their knife crime policy. Until he, Ian Gray and Richard Baker start telling the truth about their policies, they have no right to expect Scottish voters to trust them.”

1. Jim Murphy's comments were made in STV's Face to Face programme, broadcast on the evening of Sunday 18 April.

2. Despite publicly proclaiming 'carry a knife - go to jail', Labour have admitted to Justice Committee witnesses that final discretion would remain with the judges. They have also failed to produce any evidence that mandatory sentences would reduce the level of knife crime, and - perhaps most seriously - have been inconsistent in the wording of their petition, meaning that voters have signed up to support different policies.

3. In England and Wales, only 21% of people convicted of possession of a knife go to prison - in Scotland it is 30%. In England and Wales, the total number of cautions and sentences given for knife or offensive weapon possession has decreased by 21% between 2008 and 2009 (7,200 to 5,600).

4. The average length of a custodial sentence for possession of a knife was 209 days in England and Wales in Scotland it is 263 days - 25% higher.

5. In 2005 Labour proposed to double the maximum sentence for knife carriers only for those tried under solemn procedure, which would only have affected around 1% of cases. It was only SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell’s amendments that ensured that it would cover those tried under summary procedure as well.

6. In evidence to the Justice 2 Committee in 2005 then Labour Justice Minster Hugh Henry said: “I do not think that the proposal for mandatory sentences would either solve the problem or help with it. Indeed, there could be unintended consequences.”

7. In an interview with Scotland on Sunday on 18 October 2009 Strathclyde Chief Constable Stephen House said: "I cannot sign up to [the idea that] everybody who carries a knife should be locked up”

8. Lothian & Borders Chief Constable David Strand told the Justice Committee on 23rd March 2010: "All the evidence shows that the deterrent effect of mandatory imprisonment is marginal. Early police involvement and a prevention strategy that includes pre-emptive searches and tackling knife and gang culture have much greater deterrent impact...I think that there is almost a sense that it is misleading potential victims to try to persuade people that introducing mandatory sentences or increasing sentence tariffs will somehow have a big impact."