THE criminologist Don Weatherburn has accused the state government of failing to ensure its law and order policies are based on evidence.

In an opinion piece in today's Herald, Dr Weatherburn cites five policies he says the government is continuing despite evaluations by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research that show they do not cut recidivism.

"Policy is ... influenced by what's popular [rather] than by what's effective" ... Don Weatherburn. Credit:Danielle Smith

He says politicians and bureaucrats pay lip service to evidence-based policy but ignore it in practice.

''One reason is that law and order policy is as much, if not more, influenced by what's popular than by what's effective,'' he writes.