Since the Labour Government came to power in 1997 they have created over 3,000 new criminal offenses, one new offense for almost every day they have been in office. From the detention of terrorist suspects without trial to ASBOs, parenting orders to race crimes, the UK government's legislation has touched thousands of lives across the whole of British society. This unprecedented level of law-making has been consistently criticized as knee-jerk and counter-productive, not least by the police and judges charged with its enforcement.
Why has the obsession with law-making developed and how effective has it really been at reducing crime? This book, written by a leading criminal lawyer, is the first to examine criminal legislation under Tony Blair and assess its impact on the justice system of the United Kingdom.