Staffordshire Commissioner Matthew Ellis today welcomed a raft of measures in the Queen’s Speech aimed at cracking down on crime and boosting law enforcement.
Mr Ellis, who spearheaded a six-month regional study into prisons in the West Midlands, said he was pleased to see the government extending prison sentences for the most serious offenders and also investing up to £2.5 billion in creating 10,000 new prison places.
Foreign criminals will also face tougher sentences if they return to the UK after being deported under new plans unveiled today in parliament.
The Queen’s Speech also featured a package of other wide-ranging measures designed to bolster police forces and their resources, while getting tough on criminals.
Mr Ellis said: ‘I sense a welcome shift in Government policy that embraces the fact that a law-abiding society is the civil society that most of us want.
‘A tougher approach to those who do harm to others doesn’t stop us from working hard to reform people who offend, we absolutely should do that, but if those efforts are thrown back in society’s face then offenders must face the consequences.
‘The pendulum swinging back to be on the side of law-abiding people is very welcome.’
