Blair launches bid to tackle yob behaviour

PRIVATE householders will be thrown out of their homes if they refuse to stop anti-social behaviour under new measures unveiled in Britain yesterday.

Home Office minister Hazel Blears confirmed new measures would not be confined to council tenants.

The plans were revealed as part of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s flagship action plan to “restore the liberty of the law-abiding citizen”.

Conservatives accused him of “one-dimensional knee-jerk populism” while children’s groups said the plan was a re-hash of existing policies.

Launching his Respect Action Plan, Mr Blair said Britain’s criminal justice system was not working because it was using 19th century methods to fight 21st century problems.

He promised stiffer on-the-spot fines for anti-social behaviour, along other measures including powers to force offenders to do unpaid work instead of going to court.

There will be more help for “chaotic” families and teenage parents, he said.

Mr Blair said yesterday’s action plan included a range of “pre-court” measures to “rebuild the bonds of community for a modern age.”

It included:

* Increasing disorder on-the-spot fines from £80 (€117) to £100 (€146)

* Allowing police to close any home or licensed premises being used for “significant, persistent and serious nuisance”

* Handing more offenders a “conditional caution” rather than sending them to court, forcing them to do unpaid work to make amends for offences such as criminal damage;

* Setting up 50 schemes to help deal with problem families, including residential “sin bins”;

* Considering introducing fines or housing benefit deductions for persistent offenders;

* Setting up a National Parenting Academy.

Director of the Victims of Crime Trust, Norman Brennan, dismissed Mr Blair’s statement, adding: “The biggest deception I have witnessed in nearly 27 years of policing is this government’s promise to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.”

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of probation union Napo, said: “The plan has massive resource implications for probation, police and social services if it is genuinely to address the problem.”

Chief executive of the Children’s Society, Bob Reitemeier, said the plan was a “cocktail of policies that have already been launched” together with “shock tactics, such as shutting and sealing families out of their own homes”.

Ms Blears said: “The house closure order is irrespective of tenure, that will be whether it’s private sector, social tenancy or owner occupied.”

On council tenants who refuse to take part in education programmes she said: “We will look at alternative accommodation but it won’t be a conventional council tenancy.

“You are not going to get another three-bedroomed house.

“We want to ensure that there is no escape out of this system.”

She also denied that the worst offenders would be driven into a life of crime to support themselves or be left homeless.