Network Journal 2008 Issue 3 May/June

ADM 2008: Criminal justice

Usdaw can now add the home secretary to its list of top level support in Government after Jacqui Smith MP gave her backing to the union’s Freedom From Fear campaign.

The first woman and the first Usdaw member to be home secretary Jacqui Smith MP was given a warm welcome by conference when she said that violence and abuse should never be seen as an occupational hazard.

Speaking as part of the criminal justice debate the MP for Redditch added her support to the Freedom From Fear campaign and the relaunch of the Voices From The Frontline publication.

"The idea that the customer is always right can never be true if that customer is abusive," she said. "Don't tolerate it, don't accept it. The Government doesn't. Retail crime is not a victimless crime." She went on to praise Usdaw's Respect Day and the work it does with the Crime Reduction Partnerships involving police, local authorities and retailers. "There are economic costs but there is also a human cost in terms of distress, harassment and trauma faced by the victims of crime. My number one priority is to make sure people feel safe wherever they are."

In a wide-ranging debate Steven Charlwood (Irvine) spoke up for children who were victims of abuse and for parents wrongly accused of child abuse. He called for an independent panel of experts, rather than just one, to be responsible for the diagnosis and added that the laws should be changed to protect new parents from having their new born children taken into care unnecessarily.

Leann Dando (Cardiff Tesco House Sata) said the only way to cut drink driving offences was to ban all drivers from drinking. "Too many people are risking their lives and other people's by drink driving," she said. "You could lose your licence, your job, your home - that's bad enough but the consequences of causing someone's death is an horrendous reality."

Dangerous drivers who are sent to prison should serve their ban when they come out not while they are locked up, Anne Watkins (Northern Tesco F101) told conference. "If you cause a fatality by dangerous driving you should face a lifetime ban," she added.

Too many parents are burying their children because of gun crime, Sharon Davies (NW JD Williams) told delegates. "Remember the murder of Rhys Jones," she said. "Parents shouldn't have to bury their kids, it's wrong. We need tighter laws to restrict the availability of guns."

If parents were more accountable for the actions of their young children there may be a decline in the amount of criminal activity, Richard Ward told ADM. "There were 3,000 crimes committed, some very serious, by children under the age of criminal prosecution," he said. "The Government should make parents more accountable."

Michael Green (Northern Morrisons) highlighted the problem of shoplifting and called on the Government to put it on a par with car theft or burglary. "Shoplifters are the scourge of society," he said. "We also need to record the incidents of shoplifting to show just how serious it is."

Other speakers who joined the debate were; Tommy Boyne, Stacey Keyse, Anita Askew, Sandra Saunders, John Borbely, Kevin Masterton and Sachin Patel.

General secretary John Hannett emphasised how important such a debate was to the union. "Our members need the protection of the law and criminals need to face its full force," he said. "Most people have been affected by crime in some way either through their own experiences or those of their friends and family. Usdaw will continue to support the Government in its strategy of being tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime."

www.usdaw.org.uk/campaigns/freedom_from_fear

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