Improving local justice: Community Justice Panels
Andrew Dakers
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LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PROSPECTIVE MP FOR THE COMMUNITIES OF BRENTFORD, CHISWICK, GUNNERSBURY, HOUNSLOW, ISLEWORTH & OSTERLEY Local, Hard-working and Green.
Dear Friend,
Finally last week the starting gun was fired on the official campaign. I am out and about across the constituency every day – there are some 50,000 homes. At the same time many of you will have been starting to receive leaflets through your doors from my campaign team. Thank you to all of you that are already helping with the campaign and those of you that have been writing to me on a whole host of issues from Afghanistan to the desperate need for Parliamentary reform.
In the past few days Vince Cable and Nick Clegg have set out how under the Liberal Democrats the income tax threshold will be raised to £10,000, meaning most taxpayers will see their income tax bills cut by £700.
We are explaining where every last pound of the money will come from. This is demonstrated in our national manifesto, which includes full costings and was launched this morning. iPhone users can download a video app and Blackberry users can stay up-to-date with real-time news, policy and our mini-manifesto from a customised website.
Improving local justice: Community Justice Panels I believe that local policing in Hounslow has improved in recent years with the introduction of the ward based Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs). However anti-social behaviour can still blight the lives of local people from the knocking over of rubbish bins to GBH.
To support the police with more effective local justice, if elected on 6 May as the next MP for Brentford & Isleworth constituency, I will advocate the creation of Community Justice Panels. The Panels would bring more attention to the anti-social behaviour that is sometimes missed or ignored by the criminal justice system. They would be made up of responsible local people and would have the power to address minor offences that have a corrosive effect on the life of a neighbourhood. The Panels would be able to issue Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) when the offender admits to their crime.
For a quick summary watch this short video, where I explain the proposals further and share it with your friends:
The restorative action agreed is designed to engage the offender in recognising that their offences have a negative effect on both others and themselves. This system has been successful in Chard (Somerset) & Sheffield and often avoids the need for an ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order). Crucially it provides the offender with a strong incentive to comply in order to avoid getting a criminal record. In the Chard pilot only two ABCs were breached.
Thank you to all of you that have already made donations to the campaign. If you haven’t already made a donation and can afford to, it is now even easier to donate as we have a PayPal account or the option of making a direct online payment. Remember, our fundraising target is £25,000 to win the seat.
To be a part of our grassroots fight you can also volunteer. If you're short of time simply request a Liberal Democrat poster to be part of helping us change Britain.
With best wishes,
P.S. If there is just one thing you do for the campaign today, please forward this campaign update on to friends and neighbours in West London. Whatever their political views it will ensure they can make an informed decision on election day. If you received this newsletter from a friend please subscribe by going to http://lists.libdems.org.uk/wws/subscribe/andrewdakers/ |
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Published and promoted by R N Banerji on behalf of Andrew Dakers (Liberal Democrats) at 127 Central Avenue, Hounslow, Middlesex TW3 2RQ.