David Cameron gave a speech in London November 23, in which he said that he will be “tough but intelligent” on crime. He said crime should not be viewed in terms of black and white, either lock them all up or let them go. Cameron instead called for rehabilitation and tougher sentences for those who continually re-offend and do not reform.

Currently only those who are in prison for a year or longer are offered rehabilitation while in prison. However in his speech, Cameron said that he wants rehabilitation to be offered to all those who are in jail, in order to target those who are consistently serving short sentences and then re-offending. He said, “Prevention is the cheapest and most effective way to deal with crime.”

This speech by Cameron on rehabilitation for criminals comes a week after the UK Drug Policy Commission published a report titled: “A Fresh Approach to Drugs.” One of the recommendations of this report is to “… make the criminal justice system more focused on recovery.” The report also says, “sending to drug users to prison without appropriate support either inside or on their release may lead to a a higher risk of death” or “reduced risk of recovery because their treatment is disrupted.” It stresses the need for proper rehabilitation to stop criminals from re-offending.

Cameron then went on to say he wants to see payment by results spread right across rehabilitation and that “… with payment by results your money will go into what works.” This is similar to another of the recommendations within the UKDPC’s report. The report highlights the fact that there are many drug treatment programs that simply do not work and says they should no longer be supported. With Cameron’s payment by results scheme, those rehabilitation programs that do not work will receive no money, therefore cutting off the support that these defective programs receive. However, this could lead to companies ignoring those deemed to be too hard to reform, and instead lead them to focus on reforming the criminals who are easy to rehabilitate, in order to make more profit.

What Cameron also failed to mention in his speech was just how he plans to afford to pay for those programs which have promising results. At the moment, with a lack of details about when it will happen or where the money will come from, this approach to crime that he has outlined appears to be more of a wish list for how he would like to deal with crime than what he actually plans to do.

However if he was to follow a few more of the recommendations outlined in the UKDPC’s report, such as reduced sanctions for possession of drugs by making it a civil rather than criminal offense, then the money to make this a reality could become available. Making possession a civil problem means anyone found guilty would be fined or sent to drug awareness sessions rather than be sent to jail. The report says changing this “could potentially result in less demand on police and criminal justice time and resources,” thus helping to reduce the 3 billion pounds currently spent fighting drugs each year.

If they were to make the possession of drugs a civil offense, then the lesser strain on police time and resources could potentially save billions, thus freeing up money to be spent on Mr. Cameron’s payment by results plan. Not sending criminals to jail for possession could also result in prisons having more spaces available, which could be used to house those re offenders which Cameron say should be given longer prison sentences.

Image Courtesy of The CBI

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The Global Alliance for Zimbabwe applauded British Prime Minister David Cameron’s call for fostering the growth of democratic culture in Zimbabwe, and echoed fully his appeal to the international community to ensure non-violent, free and fair elections later this year.

“Advocating for a peaceful, prosperous, and free Zimbabwe is our daily mission, and we agree with Prime Minister Cameron that non-violent, free and fair elections are the essential first step,” said Chairman Roy Bennett.

“For this reason, members of the international community will be gathering in Washington, DC on April 19, 2012 to learn more about the rampant human rights violations in Zimbabwe, and how they can help to eradicate them,” Bennett continued.

For nearly thirty years, Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF have ruled Zimbabwe with ruthless, destructive focus. Employing torture and terror to maintain control of the citizenry, they’ve confiscated private property, dismantled once thriving businesses, and shuttered all but state-controlled media. Thousands have been killed, tens of thousands have been raped or maimed, and hundreds of thousands have been forcibly removed from their homes.

“During the Zimbabwe elections of 2008, our citizens voted overwhelmingly for a new democratic government. In the face of organized beatings, mob attacks, rapes, murders and torture, the people of Zimbabwe stood strong and united in their opposition to Mugabe and ZANU-PF.

Sadly, it was not enough,” said Bennett. “Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF refused to recognize the results of the election and punished those who opposed him. Since the 2008 election, atrocities in Zimbabwe have continued, with military henchmen using violence and intimidation to maintain control of the country.

“During the aftermath of the 2008 election, International opinion was offended, but not inclined to intervene. This time around, we won’t be so timid about asking for the world to please pay closer attention. In our effort to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis and focus international attention on upcoming elections – to proactively advocate for non-violent, free and fair elections in 2012 – we strive also to seek, summon, and coalesce International outrage with which to pressure Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF to end abuses and free Zimbabwe.

“With your help, we envision a peaceful, prosperous and free Zimbabwe that is an example to the region, the continent and the world of how a country, and its people, can thrive when good governance, the rule of law and a democratically-elected government are allowed to exist,”

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“This will be the year Britain sees the world and the world sees Britain,” UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in his New Year’s speech to the British nation.

Many believe that 2012 will be a year of economic uncertainty for the United Kingdom. Indeed, with the rising unemployment rate and the European financial crisis, nothing is certain. “There are fears about jobs and paying the bills,” the prime minister said in the New Year video message. “I know how difficult it will be to get through this — but I also know that we will.” This year seems to be a critical year for the global economy as the euro enters its most vital year to date.

Recently, Mr.Cameron vetoed a proposal to issue an EU financial transactions tax, saying that “Unless the rest of the world all agreed at the same time that we are all going to have some sort of tax then we are not going to go ahead with it.” However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Prime Minister said that the government’s plan to lessen the country’s budget deficit will result in some protection from the current euro-zone debt crisis, stressing that changes need to be made in order to seize growth opportunities outside of Europe.

The Guardian reported that the economy is expected to expand by merely 0.7% this year. Tony Dolphin, the chief economist of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said,

“If the economy does find itself back in recession, it is likely to have to find its own way out of it. There are ultimately only three solutions: the government decides to increase public spending or overseas demand for UK output increases substantially, or UK households and companies are given some reason to spend more.

The first is not going to happen, the second is extremely unlikely, and so we are left with the third. But with no prospect of tax cuts or lower interest rates, it is not clear what in the short term the catalyst for more spending by the private sector will be.”

Despite the current economic situation, there are still several reasons to be hopeful. London will be hosting the Olympic games from July 27 to August 12. The Britons will also be celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this June, marking Queen Elizabeth II’s reign of 60 years.

The Prime Minister believes that regardless of the struggles the country is facing, 2012 will be a turning point for the UK. He said, “It must be the year we go for it—the year the coalition government I lead does everything it takes to get our country up to strength.”

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Every so often, the British media will run a story about how the government of the day is considering amending the laws governing the succession to the Throne. Nothing is ever done, however, and the story quickly fades from view. But David Cameron may be bucking the trend, for he has finally set in motion the ponderous process of changing the law.

At issue is the fact that the current law is perceived by many as discriminatory. Men take precedence over women. If William and Kate have a daughter, she can only inherit the Throne if her parents never have a son. Such gender discrimination is increasingly hard to justify, and there is widespread support for allowing women to succeed on equal terms.

Cameron also wants to end the prohibition against marrying Roman Catholics. The Act of Succession 1701 states that, if a person who is in the line of succession marries a Roman Catholic, they automatically forfeit their right to the Crown. On the surface, this looks like a straightforward issue of religious discrimination.

Critics have pointed out that the prohibition does not apply to a person who marries a Presbyterian, a Muslim, or even an atheist, and they see it as something of an anomaly that Roman Catholics are singled out in this manner. However, allowing a person who is married to a Roman Catholic to ascend the Throne could have unforeseen consequences because of the Roman Catholic Church’s rules regarding ‘mixed’ marriages.

Typically, if a Roman Catholic marries a non-Roman Catholic, the non-Roman Catholic person must agree to let any children be raised as Roman Catholics. This would be problematic because a Roman Catholic cannot ascend the Throne because of the monarch’s role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Although supporters of succesion-law reform argue that, because the monarch’s role in the Church is mostly ceremonial, there is no problem with a Roman Catholic becoming the titular Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Church of England continues to oppose such a move. Since there is little political will to disestablish the Church of England, Cameron’s reforms can only go so far.

Because the British monarch is also the monarch of fifteen other countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, any change to the succession law will require the unanimous agreement of those other countries. Cameron has written to the Queen’s other Prime Ministers to obtain their support for the changes, and it is likely the matter will be discussed further at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth later this month.
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