Safe, strong, vibrant communities, where all can flourish, are at the heart of Labour’s vision for the future of Britain, a Britain where we share responsibilities and respect for each other.

Our commitment to protecting the country and its people informs our approach to tackling crime, delivering justice, reducing re-offending, protecting Britain’s borders, and fighting terrorism.

How do we continue our progress in the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour can make people’s lives a misery. That is why we launched the Respect Agenda; its aim is to empower individuals and communities to combat anti-social behaviour and take control of their own areas - it recognises that rights are matched with responsibilities. We need to challenge unacceptable behaviour where it occurs and take positive action to tackle the causes,and support a culture of respect, for example, by supporting parents so they are better able to look after their children.

Labour’s measures to tackle anti-social behaviour are having an impact - we need to ensure existing laws are enforced and look at whether further summary, preventative and civil powers are needed to tackle specific crimes. We need to focus on early intervention to prevent crime, while tackling those crimes of particular concern, such as drugs,-related, alcohol-related, organised crime, gun and knife crime, and terrorism.

How do we continue to develop neighbourhood policing to make all our communities safer?

We must support the police to ensure they have the best tools and structures to do their job and respond to future challenges. This means examining force structures, processes, resources and how we reduce police bureaucracy. We should look at how neighbourhood policing should be integrated with other forms of policing; how best we can train officers to spread best practice across the country; and how we can get local community safety groups and other partners to work with neighbourhood police most effectively.

What more can we do to deliver a criminal justice system which best protects the public?
Labour are committed to delivering a justice system which focuses on meeting the needs of victims and the decent law-abiding majority. Our aim is a system that works for the public, punishes the guilty, reduces re-offending and offers a realistic prospect of rehabilitation for the contrite.

Our vision is of a justice system which is tough and fair, which connects with communities, which is simple and transparent and fast and effective - while maintaining our traditional commitment to liberty and justice. We need to continue to ensure that communities have more of a voice in sentencing and provide clearer rights and increased information for victims and the public. As we work to cut re-offending, we need to continue to ensure that dangerous criminals are sent to jail, while working to make non-custodial sentences more effective.

Points to consider

• How do we continue to build a culture of respect in Britain? What further measures are needed to continue the drive against anti-social behaviour?
• How do we continue to develop neighbourhood policing? What more can we do to best prepare and equip our law enforcement agencies to detect crimes and enforce the law in the 21st century? How can we harness new technologies and methods to fight crime?
• What more can we do to tackle particular crimes, such as drug and alcohol-related crimes, and work across government to address addiction and abuse?
• What more can we do to address the underlying causes of crime?
• How do we continue to take forward the fight against terrorism and its causes?
• How do we continue to reform the criminal justice system to ensure that the interests of law-abiding citizens are paramount?
• What more can we do to address re-offending?