John MacDonald: If we were really tough on crime, we'd do this

Law and Order is going to be one of the Government’s top priorities over the next three months - as part of its latest action plan which, like the last one, is a bit of an announcement of an announcement.

Two of its action points, though, is to launch a military-style academy pilot for serious and persistent young offenders (14-to-17 years olds we’re talking about here); and introduce legislation to toughen sentencing rules to ensure what it calls “real consequences for crime”.