Crime: The Liberal Democrats aren’t soft on crime. Serious and repeat offenders must be dealt according to the law but that does not mean I believe in adopting a broad brush approach to all crime. We must tackle the root causes of crime and better prevent people turning to this behaviour in the first place.
Prisons: For minor offenders prison is not the answer. We should explore ways in which to give the victims of these types of offences more say in bringing offenders to account. I have long been, and continue to be through my position as trustee for Unlock, heavily involved in supporting the rehabilitation of ex-offenders back into society. For those who warrant it our help should not be half hearted but full and committed to providing them with the platform to progress in life.