17 June 2008
Gordon Brown has called for modern crime-fighting measures to be embraced and adapted to fit with the principles of individual freedom and liberty.
In a speech in London today, the PM said individual rights can be strengthened hand-in-hand with the use of CCTV, DNA databases, ID cards and the extension of pre-charge detention. The challenge for the Government and for society as a whole is to "achieve a settlement that ensures both our tradition of liberty and our need for security", he said.
The PM said:
"The modern security challenge is defined by new and unprecedented threats: terrorism; global organised crime; organised drug trafficking and people trafficking. This is the new world in which government must work out how it best discharges its duty to protect people."
Mr Brown highlighted police data that suggests there are currently at least 2000 known terrorist suspects, 200 organised networks and 30 terrorist plots. Investment in counter-terrorism has risen from £1 billion in 2001 to £3.5 billion in 2011. In this context it was right to make use of 21st century technology in fighting terrorism and other crime, he said.
The PM added that using tools such as CCTV "cuts crime and makes people feel safer" and that it is incorrect to see them as "intrinsically the enemy of liberty". A Home Affairs Select Committee rejected the characterisation of Britain as a "Surveillance Society" as recently as 5 June, he said.
Likewise ID cards should not be seen as illiberal, as the Government has "no plans" to make them compulsory. They will instead provide a "better, more convenient and more secure way" of proving identity.
And on DNA technology, the PM said that the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, which allowed DNA to be retained from all charged suspects even if not found guilty, had prevented 8,000 people from escaping charge. Their crimes included 114 murders, 55 attempted murders and 116 rapes.
The PM said it would be wrong to assume that "the laws and practices which have applied in the past are enough to face the future" and that such an approach would amount to "the politics of complacency".
He said:
"New challenges require new means of addressing them. But at all times the enduring responsibility remains the same - both protecting the security of all and safeguarding the individual’s right to be free."
The Government will soon receive a report containing recommendations for improving the Criminal Justice System and matters such as community policing. Review author Louise Casey will be in Number 10 to take part in a live webchat on Thursday 19 June from 14:00 BST.
Image copyright: Reuters
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