Respect Agenda will not Succeed if Government sticks to Gimmicks & Spin

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 11th Jan 2006

Manchester's Liberal Democrat Crime and Disorder spokesperson Councillor Jackie Pearcey has hit out at the latest Government initiatives on "respect" as "another set of gimmicks without any backup."

Cllr Jackie Pearcey said today:

"In Manchester, we have had scheme after scheme, but what has caused each and every one problems has been lack of long-term money. Instead of squandering billions of pounds on compulsory Identity Cards that will do nothing to reduce crime and disorder, the Government should invest that money into more police officers and more crime reduction strategies."

"So far we have had Wardens, who never know from one year to the next whether they will be properly funded; schemes such as On the Streets in Gorton, which are doing excellent work with local young people but have to beg for funding month after month; community police officers whose funding is under threat; and anti-crime initiative after anti-crime initiative such as alcohol bans & dispersal orders with no spare police to enforce them."

Cllr Pearcey added, "Tony Blair's latest "Respect" initiative is pretty much what is already being done. What is needed is stable long-term funding to allow the existing measures to be enforced properly and to enable people providing these very services to be able to plan ahead and to recruit people on long term contracts."

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