Values of Thatcherism Influencing British criminal justice policy

• Margaret Thatcher also advocated for the passing and implantation of several bills and acts to help reduce crime rates in the United Kingdom during her time as Prime Minister, some of which had effects which are still being felt up to date on the British criminal policy system. (Charles Moore) Context In the past years, criminologists have taken time to study the extent to which punitiveness is emerging as a crucial and main feature of many criminal justice systems. Studies conducted have been relying on data obtained from surveys which measure the peoples support for harsh sentences and prison population. In this essay, we take a different approach as we look at the influences of the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on British criminal justice policy up to date.

We explore on the values and ideas of Thatcher that led to passing of several laws in British in her attempt to help reduce crime rates. Thatcher also advocated for the passing of the British Nationality Act, this act was seen as an attempt for the administration of Margaret Thatcher to make it hard for immigrants to enter the United Kingdom. This act was mainly aimed towards reducing the pool of young black males who would enter the British criminal justice system (Edwards 2015). The main link to this act and Thatcher’s values on criminology is the fact that Thatcher’s administration believed that another class of people leading to increased crime rates in England were immigrants due to their low economic status.