From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CRACKDOWNS ON CRIME - BUT A MIXED RECORD 170933 JUL 00 By Martin Hickman, Political Correspondent, PA News The thought that the Government was being seen as "soft" on crime must have had Tony Blair tearing his hair out. The Prime Minister has gone to great lengths to seize the Conservatives' traditional claim to be the party of law and order. He regularly extols New Labour's toughness on crime and once, famously, promised to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. He and Home Secretary Jack Straw have announced a stream of crackdowns on crime this year alone - giving police forces targets for cutting the numbers of offences, enabling police to test suspected drug addicts, and increasing the use of electronic tagging for offenders. Other plans have included jailing the parents of truanting children, providing extra money for police recruits, and increasing the powers to seize criminals' assets. But the Government's record on crime has been mixed. Despite a manifesto pledge to cut red tape and put more bobbies on the beat, the number of the police officers has fallen since the general election. Crime figures being published tomorrow are expected to show a small rise in crime and an average 19% increase in violent crime. Of particular public concern when Mr Blair wrote his memo, however, was the controversial case of jailed farmer Tony Martin, who was jailed for shooting dead 16-year-old burglar Fred Barras during the third break-in at his Norfolk home in as many months. There was public concern that the jury in the case had been intimidated and, more generally, that the scales of justice had become weighted in favour of criminals. More recently, ministers were criticised for failing to prevent football fans without previous convictions travelling to the Euro 2000 soccer tournament - where there was hooliganism. Mr Blair was forced into a U-turn over his plans for on-the-spot fines for louts. Police said there was merit in the idea of fixed penalty notices, but said marching offenders to cash machines simply would not work. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
