Crime & justice

Policing, sentencing and prisons: how much punishment, and how much prevention. Parties are ordered left to right by our placement on the spectrum, and each line is the position in brief.

1. 

   Green

   Zack Polanski

   10.6%

   Presumption against short sentences; divert rather than jail

   In full ▾Less ▴

   A presumption against custodial sentences under two years, with investment redirected to courts, diversion schemes and violence-reduction units rather than prison places. The party would restore youth services and community policing, repeal the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the Public Order Act, abolish the Preventi programme, and decriminalise sex work.

   -8

2. 

   Labour

   Andy Burnham

   26.1%

   3,000 more neighbourhood officers within twelve months

   In full ▾Less ▴

   3,000 additional neighbourhood officers and PCSOsi within twelve months, with dedicated teams patrolling town centres at peak times to end what the government calls the policing "postcode lottery". Burnham points to his Greater Manchester record: 8,271 officers by March 2026, around 2,000 more than when he took office in 2017, alongside a 15% fall in neighbourhood crime.

   Check itBurnham's policing plan, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

   -3

3. 

   Lib Dems

   Sir Ed Davey

   10.3%

   Restore community policing; scrap Police and Crime Commissionersi

   In full ▾Less ▴

   Restoring community policing, and scrapping Police and Crime Commissionersi in favour of local Police Boards made up of councillors and local representatives, with the savings put into frontline policing. Recent party papers also defend trial by jury against proposals to restrict it.

   Check itStronger Communities, Safer Citizens, Liberal Democrats

   -2

4. 

   Conservative

   Kemi Badenoch

   20.3%

   8,000 more neighbourhood police; 20,000 prison places

   In full ▾Less ▴

   8,000 more neighbourhood police officers with a named officer for every community, mandatory whole-life ordersi for the worst murders including those involving sadistic or sexual conduct, full custodial terms served for rape and serious sexual offences, and 20,000 additional prison places.

   Also from the 2024 manifesto rather than a new platform under the current leadership.

   Check itConservative manifesto summary, Local Government Association

   +3

5. 

   Reform

   Nigel Farage

   22.9%

   40,000 more police; mandatory minimums; more prison places

   In full ▾Less ▴

   40,000 more police officers, expanded stop and search, mandatory minimum sentences for serious and repeat offenders, and more prison capacity so overcrowding no longer forces early release.

   Check itReform UK manifesto: policy breakdown, London Daily

   +6

6. 

   Restore

   Rupert Lowe

   4.4%

   A referendum on restoring the death penalty

   In full ▾Less ▴

   A referendum on restoring the death penalty. Possession of pepper spray would be legalised and "reasonable force" in home defence expanded.

   Capital punishment is prohibited by Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rightsi, which the UK has ratified; restoring it would require withdrawal.

   Check itRestore Britain and its proposed policies, National Media

   +7

6 of 6 parties have a position we could source on this. A blank row may mean the party has said little, or that we have not found what it has said.