
I wrote ‘Thankfully,
in our mostly law abiding country the deaths of serving police officers…are
rare occurrences…’ I couldn’t have possibly have foreseen that the next
such tragedy of an officer being killed whilst on duty was only a few weeks
away.
This week our nation was shocked and saddened by the death
of Merseyside Police Officer David Phillips who died from internal injuries
after he was mown down by a stolen vehicle whilst trying to apprehend the
driver who was fleeing the scene of a suspected burglary.
PC Phillips was, by all accounts, an exemplary officer who
mentored new recruits, helped to raise funds for charities in his down time and
was a devoted husband and father to his wife Jen and two young daughters Sophie
and Abigail.
Perhaps the most appropriate words to describe PC Phillips
were included in the message left by his daughter, Sophie, at the scene of his
death. He note simply said ‘Daddy, my hero, my super daddy, my world.’
In the grand scheme of things it means very little but I
would like to thank him and his family for his service and sacrifice to our
nation. PC David Phillips and his colleagues serving to protect us every day
are heroes. He will not be forgotten.
As is always the case in tragedies such as these the full
resources of the police service were rightly put to use to apprehend those
responsible for the death of PC Phillips.
In a very short space of time arrests were made and an 18
year old man from the Wallasey area has subsequently been charged with his
murder and it struck me as it does time and time again when we hear of this
type of incident that it’s not just the lives of one family that were altered
forever a few days ago.
Before I go any further I must be clear. This column is in
absolutely no way an apology or seeking to justify the events surrounding the
death of PC Phillips.
If anyone is found guilty of being culpable for the murder
of a police officer during the course of his duty the full weight of the law
should be brought upon him and the sentence imposed upon him should be severe.
To my mind and I am sure to that of a great many more mitigation for such an
abominable crime should be extremely limited.
It was, however, the age of the accused that caused me to
think further.
At 18 we are all deemed in the eyes of the law to be adults.
We must all take responsibility for our actions, we must all pay taxes and if
we commit crimes we must face up to the consequences. That state of affairs is
only right and proper.
But for anyone who has children of that age, or who works
with them, we know that a great many 18 year olds are a long, long way from the
maturity needed for adult life.
Whilst the law may be clear that adulthood starts on ones
eighteenth birthday reality shows that childhood in all too many cases
continues for many for months and, in some cases, even years.
Last week The Sunday Times published a long expose looking
at the culture of ‘laddism’ in British universities, and what the
establishments are trying to do to tackle it, which particularly manifests
itself during Freshers weeks. The article documents tales of groping, excessive
drinking, hedonism and passing out which, it claims are prevalent at this time
of year.
In one section the author, Katie Glass, beautifully writes
‘On the streets, absurdly young-looking teenagers trundle suitcases and heave
duvets out of parent’s cars, giving them self-consciously discreet kisses
goodbye, as they head towards the halls.’
In that sentence we have before us all that we need to know.
These 18 year olds, for that is what most Freshers are, may well be taking
their first steps into adult life but a great many do not have the skills or
maturity to deal with the challenges that lie immediately ahead of them.
It does not matter if at 18 you are turning up to attend one
of our nation’s most prestigious places of higher education for the first time,
or whether you are starting adult life in one of our most deprived areas so
many of our young people are not ready, but ready they must be.
But of course the support mechanisms in place to help young
people into adulthood vary dramatically throughout Britain and differ between
one family and the next.
In the run up to the 1997 General Election a great deal was
made about, then Leader of the Opposition, Tony Blair’s mantra ‘tough on crime
and tough on the causes of crime’.
In what became a seminal soundbite of the age Mr Blair
sought to enunciate a vision that where offending happened it should be
vigorously tackled but at the same time greater action was needed to educate
and enable young people and families to move away from lifestyles which lead to
criminality.
In some ways Mr Blair’s vision was a success. Anti-social
behaviour and low level criminality remains at historically low rates. In other
ways being tough on the causes of crime has failed.
In 2000 the then Labour government produced its periodic
statistics on deprivation in Britain. At that time the 5 most deprived local
authorities in the country were Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Knowsley, Manchester
and Great Yarmouth.
Earlier this year the statistics were produced again. The
top 5 of most deprived areas this time around were Manchester, Liverpool, Tower
Hamlets, Knowsley, and Middlesbrough.
Four of the five most deprived areas of our country are the
same, although in a slightly different order, as they were 15 years ago.
We know that criminality is all too often linked to
deprivation, and we know that deprivation affects health, education, and
countless other demands on public services.
When we look at 18 year olds we know that with a few
exceptions their future life expectations have been formed in the events that
have already happened to them and the surroundings they have been raised in.
As a nation we must be doing so much more to give those
adult children the opportunities they need to make positive contributions to
our society.
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