Blair targets prolific offenders
Tony Blair has announce plans for a prolific offender licence
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Tuesday, 27, Mar 2007 07:23
Tony Blair has today set out the government's plans to "tackle the hard core of criminals" as part of a major reform of the criminal justice system.
The prime minister unveiled his crime review at a public service conference, outlining how the government intends to confront crime and criminals over the next ten years.
Included in the plans are measures to target the 100,000 criminals who the government believes commit half of all crime in the UK.
Such criminals could be issued with prolific offender licences, Mr Blair said today, in order to ensure they are subject to continued restrictions once released from jail.
If broken, the offenders would be liable for arrest and could face up to three years in jail for breaching the licence.
"These measures are the best way to tackle the hard core of criminals," Mr Blair said.
"These people have serious problems and targeting the offender means taking those problems seriously. And we have proof that it works."
The document, Building on Progress: Security, Crime and Justice, is split into three themes and focuses on prevention; detection and enforcement; and criminal justice reform.
Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the chief inspector of constabulary, will also conduct a review of the police force
"Security, crime and justice are the issues that most concern the public," home secretary John Reid said.
He added: "Crime is down by 35 per cent since 1997 but there is no room for complacency.
"We know that criminals will continue to find new ways of breaking our laws and attempting to avoid justice, we need to be one step ahead ensuring that the most serious and persistent offenders are dealt with swiftly and efficiently."
But the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has criticised the review for doing "nothing to address the strategic weaknesses of the police service" it has previously identified.
Acpo president Ken Jones said: "In order to be more responsive to communities and their needs, we must be allowed to get on and deliver local policing without being constrained by fine grain targets set at the centre.
"It appears that this review does nothing to address the strategic weaknesses of the police service identified by Acpo and again by HMIC [Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary] two years ago. This remains one of the goals of Acpo
"For now, we look forward to working with HMIC on this review to build on the successes of the service."