The Guardian The politics of law and order are entirely about spin. Not just partly. There is no field of political conflict where impression more fully eclipses reality. The two may not always be at odds.
Some impressions are correct.
Crime has doubled over the last 20 years, for example. That is a fact. Politicians' belief that the public wants only heavier sentencing is another truth that's not entirely fanciful. But the raw material Jack Straw and Ann Widdecombe are handling when they promote this as an election issue is not fact but propaganda, otherwise known as spin. Consider the opening bids made yesterday.