30/03/2004

Strategy set to target UK's 5,000 'hardcore' offenders

The Prime Minister has announced plans to target a hardcore of persistent offenders – around 5,000 people who are believed to be responsible for nearly 10% of all crime.

Tony Blair said that while this is only an average of 15 or 20 people for each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, they are "wreaking havoc". The main aims of the Prolific and Other Priority Offenders Strategy are to "prevent and deter, catch and convict and rehabilitate and resettle".

The Prime Minister said these offenders cost the country more than £2 billion a year.

"We are determined to tackle this small group of offenders who do so much harm. And if we have to give new powers to the police - we will do so," he said.

The new strategy, which will be rolled out in the summer, will focus efforts on offenders according to the nature and volume of the crime they commit rather than the number of times they are convicted. It will also take more account of the particular concerns of individual communities, No 10 said.

The exact criteria used to select individuals to be targeted will be drawn up in consultation with the 42 Local Criminal Justice Boards. These are made up of local chief officers of all the criminal justice agencies.

The Prime Minister also highlighted new measures that will come into force on 1 April, such as a ban on selling spray paint to under-16s and new powers for the police to issue fixed penalty notices for disorder.

(gmcg)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

02 September 2004
Satellite tracking pilots to target 'prolific offenders'
Satellite tracking will keep close tabs on offenders in three areas of the country in a new development launched today. The pilots will take place in Greater Manchester, Hampshire and the West Midlands.
15 September 2003
Multi-agency approach to dangerous criminals hailed
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) have made a "significant difference" to the way police and probation officers protect the public from the risks posed by dangerous offenders in the community, the Home Office has claimed today.
20 July 2012
Sex Offenders Lie Detector Scheme 'To Be Rolled Out'
Following a successful pilot scheme mandatory polygraph testing for sex offenders is set to be rolled out across England and Wales, ministers say. The scheme found offenders who were tested were more honest and gave better information, which meant they were managed more effectively.
02 March 2012
Three Jailed After Death Of Television Executive
Three people have been jailed today after television executive Gagandip Singh was attacked and killed in February last year. They include 20-year-old female medical student Mundhill Mundill Kaur Mahil of Gladstone Place, Brighton. She had been convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent and was given six years in a Youth Offenders Institute.
22 August 2008
Glitter Ordered To Sign Sex Offenders Register
Former glam rock singer Gary Glitter has been ordered to sign the sex offenders register after arriving back in Britain. Glitter was met at Heathrow Airport by a media scrum as well as police officers from the anti-paedophile Operation Jigsaw. The convicted sex offender, spent three years in a Vietnamese jail for abusing two girls aged 10 and 11.