Did Tony Blair succeed on tough on crime tough on the causes of crime?
I actually think that he has succeeded on tough on crime and failed on tough on the causes of crime. There has been investment in policing which is paying off and sentencing in most cases appears to be longer. There are still some that slip through the net (Baby P). But on the whole big crime murder, rape, etc does appear to be solved and punished. Where he has failed is the causes. I will never excuse someone like Sean Mercer or the killers of Baby P or Matthews and Donavon – but these people lived in some of the poorest and most deprived parts of society. Whilst it is blatantly obvious that what these people did was wrong to treat the causes of crime you need to give these people hope where they had none.
