Published Messenger Newspapers, Adelaide, September 3, 2003


WHIPPING CRIME INTO A FRENZY


NOT long after the Rann Government came to power in South Australia, I met a Cabinet Minister at a social function and asked him why the Premier was taking such a hard line on crime so early in the electoral cycle? Mike Rann was already talking tough on sentencing and overriding Parole Board recommendations. Crime was not usually hammered this hard as an issue until, say, the final months of an election campaign. "Mike has always been tough on crime, it's one of his hobby horses," the Minister had told me with a stage wink. Having observed Rann for nearly 30 years, I had not previously noticed any particular desire by him to reach for the cat-o'-nine-tails. The explanation was simple, the Minister said, sighing at my naivety. In the first instance, if you laid early claim to law'n'order as an issue and made it your own, you left no room for your opponents to move onto the patch. True enough, and good politics. Secondly, he grinned, sounding tough on crime cost no money. Ah, the sweet'n'sour smell of political cynicism. When it comes to crime, I am no "do-gooder". I believe some criminals are indeed incorrigible. I think there are evil people who are not victims of poor parenting. In the worst cases, the key should be thrown away forever and I would not lose any sleep. Nevertheless, I still believe the power to decide how long to keep a criminal in prison should reside with the law courts and the Parole Board, not with vote hungry politicians. Otherwise, the rule of law ceases to exist. "Media Mike" is too experienced as a political operator for his law'n'order tub-thumping not to be a deliberate policy. Cabinet meetings are accompanied by the rattling sound of handcuffs. He appears to see the political currency of crime as too valuable to be left to the justice system. Under his Premiership, the concepts of deterrence and retribution have become political, not judicial, requirements. Some politicians are just incorrigible. People being human, they are easily frightened by crime. They are inclined to believe the justice system is too soft and the criminals get off too easily - contrary to the facts in most cases. Also, the public always think crime trends are worse than they are. In one British crime survey, the public believed that average jail sentences were a third shorter than they really were. The same result would likely emerge here in South Australia. The Premier, an old hand at spinning the facts for political ends, knows which buttons to push: judges are too liberal, sentences are too lenient and hanging's too good for 'em. Next thing, we will be stoning lepers. All the while, intentionally or not, he is ratcheting up the level of public disquiet and eroding confidence in the justice system. People do not like being frightened and they do not like being frightened by their governments, especially for cynical political motives. Giving voice to public fears is not giving leadership.