Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday announced a new state crackdown on working class youth and their parents.
She said announcing ‘Operation Leopard’: ‘It’s exactly the sort of intensive policing that can bring persistent offenders to their senses – involving daily police visits to their homes, repeated warnings for the hard core of trouble-makers, and relentless filming of them and their associates throughout the day and night.’
She was speaking to police, magistrates, probation officers and local government officials at an ‘Anti-Social Behaviour: We’re not Having It’ conference in central London.
She admitted that this persecution policy was being introduced when the situation was getting a lot better as far as the government was concerned.
She said: ‘Over the past year, we’ve seen crime figures come down, and we’ve seen public concerns about anti-social behaviour ease.’
She added: ‘Even though the numbers of people worried about anti-social behaviour are dropping, that certainly doesn’t mean we can sit back and think we’ve cracked the problem.’
Smith gave the distinct impression that the new measures were being introduced to try and make the government more popular by being more anti-working class than the Tories.
She continued: ‘Today, the full range of tools and powers are being used – and where ASBOs may be applied in fewer cases (drop of 34% between 2005-06), it is because we are now stepping in much earlier with Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Parenting Orders and Individual Support Orders to nip ASB in the bud.
‘We are not taking it easy on ASB – we are getting in early.
‘These early interventions have increased almost fourfold in the past year, putting a stop to problems before they get out of control and before ASBOs are required.
‘To take the two examples of housing and young people that I’ve just mentioned, in the year to last September:
‘Housing injunctions increased by nearly 80%; Eviction orders increased by 75%; Notices Seeking Possession increased by the same margin.
‘There were 76% more Acceptable Behaviour Contracts as well, more than 30,000; Parenting Orders nearly doubled (91%) in use; Parenting Contracts more than doubled, to more than 8,500.
‘These figures underscore my determination to keep up the momentum and keep up the pressure on ASB wherever it raises its head.’
In addition, she said: ‘I am today announcing £250,000 of funding this year for an ASB Action Squad that will inject new drive into the take-up and use of ASB tools and powers.’
She explained that its role would be to victimise.
Action Squad is ‘to co-ordinate a new drive against the hard core of “hard nut” cases.
‘That car of theirs – is the tax up to date? Is it insured? Let’s find out.
‘And have they a TV licence for their plasma screen? As the advert says, “it’s all on the database.”
‘As for their council tax, it shouldn’t be difficult to see if that’s been paid.
‘And what about benefit fraud? Can we run a check?’
She further announced that transport secretary Ruth Kelly and herself will take action ‘to stamp out ASB on our buses, trains and trams. If more powers are needed to protect staff and the travelling public, we will provide them.’