Howard League Blog

We are facing the new year in uncertain times. Government rhetoric is dispiriting and seems to be designed to play to the lowest human instincts. It feels a bit like we are all in stasis, awaiting a maelstrom of legislation and activity. Meanwhile, we are getting on with our work with energy as the Howard League is in good shape.  Read more

My fourth blogpost looks at the Conservative manifesto. The main problem is that many of the specific proposals are in opposition to evidence. Either they are not backed up by evidence, they are directly contradicted by evidence or, at best, they lack evidence.  Read more

My third review of the party manifestos is a critique of Labour’s plans. Yet again we see scaremongering about rising violent crime, which, as I said about the Lib Dem manifesto, is a perennial problem, and I am disappointed that a comprehensive plan to address violence is missing.  Read more

My second blogpost in a series of commentaries on the political party manifestos looks at the Lib Dems.  Read more

The Green Party manifesto was published this week. At 88 pages it is pretty comprehensive, although most of the crime proposals are entreaties to do things better rather than specific legislative reforms. As we know from long experience, just asking people to do things does not necessary achieve the desired result. Although, it is also true that simply introducing new laws can have no effect or indeed have unintended consequences.  Read more

Magistrates were wrong to imprison a child of 14 and wrong to allow him to be named. The boy's case was heard in a youth court last week and it has been reported widely, but for reasons that I will go on to explain, I am not sharing a link to the coverage.  Read more

This is a guest blog, I am hosting it on my blog site so that people who attended the lecture from the Director of Public Prosecutions and anyone else who may be interested can read the questions posted at the lecture on 14 October and the responses from Max Hill. I am very grateful to the DPP for taking the time to respond so fully to questions.  Read more

This is too shocking not to share. A friend, a police officer, told me he was in a car with three colleagues for the whole day, cruising round aimlessly ‘looking for burglars’. As if this wasn’t a total waste of taxpayers’ money and a total waste of police time, it gets worse.  Read more