Suzy Lamplugh was just 24 when she disappeared in 1986. In 2008 the Suzy Lamplugh Trust recruited a group of young academics, all in their early twenties to review the body of research into violent crime. Our aim was to develop new approaches to an old problem. Violent crime kills 750 people and injures two million more in the UK every year.
These ten proposals have come out of their research. What do you think? Would you add any or take any away?
- Increased visible policing in areas with high levels of violent crime
- Targeted personal safety advice for young men in high crime areas
- Support for community based mentoring programmes that provide high status alternatives to violent crime and gang membership
- Reform of the prison system to focus on reducing re-offending rates
- Prisons to be given targets and resources to ensure that no-one leaves prison without a job to go to
- Increased taxes on alcohol to reduce binge drinking and overall consumption levels whilst funding increased policing in areas of high levels of violence
- Tougher licensing regimes to close down premises linked to increased levels of violent crime in the surrounding area
- A new public awareness campaign to challenge acceptance of sexual violence against women
- A new Victims Ombudsman with powers to hold the criminal justice system to account
- Better information sharing between agencies dealing with people with mental health problems to ensure that they continue to receive the support they need in prison or in the community
