Boris Johnson vows to toughen up on crime by putting victims at heart of parole system

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THE Tories pledge a major overhaul of Britains creaking parole system to put crimes forgotten victims back at its heart again.

The fairness drive is part of a double headed package unveiled by Boris Johnson in the latest chapter of his voter-pleasing bid to toughen up on crime.

Boris Johnson has vowed to toughen up on crime by putting victims at the heart of the parole system

In a long called for move, the Conservatives will vow to pull back the curtain on the secretive parole process that decides whether criminals should be released from jail early.

It will mean victims as well as the media will finally be invited in to hearings for the first time – a victory for a Sun campaign and those who suffered will also get a full readout on what boards decide to do with their perpetrators and why.

The PM also yesterday promised a fresh crackdown on what he dubbed the scourge of knife crime to dole our swifter punishment as well as bolstering the police.

Mr Johnson didnt hold back his punches yesterday to promote his new plans, donning gloves in a gym in Manchester used to keep local kids out of trouble.

Under it,

  • All knife crime offenders will be fast tracked so they are charged within 24 hours of arrest and hauled in front of a court within a week.
  • Stop-and-search powers will be expanded to allow cops to easier target known knife users with new court orders.

And on top of the parole board opening up, the victims package also includes;

  • Hiking the victims surcharge to make convicts pay 25% extra to fund refuges and support for domestic and sexual abuse victims.
  • A new Victims Law to enshrine their rights to justice in statute and set up a dedicated complaints mechanism if they are let down by the system.

Continuing the fight he started as London Mayor to come down hard on knife offenders, the PM said: We have committed to putting an extra 20,000 police officers on our streets, but they need to have the powers to act decisively and effectively to prevent crime and see that offenders face justice.

Thats why today we are announcing greater freedoms for the police to use stop and search on individuals who are known to have carried knives in the past. We are also speeding up prosecutions to make sure the threat of being caught is always an effective deterrent.

But Boris added: Just as with our plans to improve schools and hospitals, we can only do any of this if we end the gridlock in parliament with a Conservative majority government.

The parole board reforms come as a result of the outrage over the decision to almost free black cab rapist John Worboys.

After public uproar, the decision made in secret by a parole board was quashed.

One of those who campaigned hardest to keep Worboys in jail was the PMs girlfriends, Carrie Symonds.

‘JUSTICE THEY DESERVE’

The package to boost victims rights will help redress the balance that many see favours criminals over those who suffer from them, a senior Tory argued last night.

Home Office minister Victoria Atkins said: Victims of crime will often have been through horrific and harrowing experiences. They may have had their lives ripped apart because of physical, emotional or economic abuse.

These plans will help to ensure that the system is working for them, not against them and that they can always count on receiving the justice and support that they deserve.

The targeted stop and search powers could prove the most controversial.

Under the plan, they will be enacted by a new form of court order called a Serious Violence Reduction Order.

Police will apply for them to search habitual knife carriers in the street without requiring any grounds of suspicion first.

The idea has been backed by former Met boss Lord Hogan-Howe, and the power could be used against acid and guns, as well as blades.

All offenders who receive a community order, suspended sentence or worse would receive such an order, meaning that from the moment they leave court or prison they will know they face a greater chance of being caught again and sent to jail.

The measures will pull back the curtain on the secretive parole process that decides whether criminals should be released from jail early

It comes after the decision to free black cab rapist John Worboys in 2018