“Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” wasn’t it ? Let’s look at what that means. The first half of the slogan is an unequivocal demand that offenders will be punished. The second half implies that the “causes” are sometimes (always?) social. So some neighbourhoods, economic sub groups, racial minorities (etc.) are more likely to be a breeding ground for criminality than others. In short if you live in leafy Surrey, in a loving home and go to a good school you’re less likely to be involved in knife crime than some social alternatives.
We are in the world of mitigating circumstances here. In “West Side Story” Stephen Sondheim wrote this:
Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke
You gotta understand
It’s just our bringin’ upke
That gets us outta hand
Our mothers all are junkies
Our fathers all are drunks
Golly Moses, naturally we’re punks!
This was a plea from the disadvantaged Jets to be treated differently because they came from deprived homes. Yes they committed crimes, but there are mitigating circumstances. A plea for “Two Tier” treatment then. Seems not unreasonable to me. If you also try and be tough on the “causes” of crime. Solve the social problem and you reduce the crime.
Paddy’s Blogs in a crazy world 