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March 6 2008
ID Card plan revised
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced changes to the proposals for ID cards. Most people will not have to give fingerprints for passports until 2011/12, and plans to make passport applicants have an ID card have been dropped. But workers in security-sensitive jobs, such as airport workers, will have to have ID cards from 2009.
March 18 2008
GOVERNMENT INTENSIFIES DRIVE TO TACKLE ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN YOUNG PEOPLE BY STEPPING IN EARLY
A thousand of the most challenging young people will be targeted for intensive, non negotiable intervention in order to prevent future antisocial behaviour, Ed Balls and Beverley Hughes announced today in the Youth Taskforce Action Plan.
The Youth Taskforce Action Plan will build on the success in tackling antisocial behaviour by spending £218.5m in the following three areas:
• Tough enforcement where behaviour is unacceptable or illegal
• Non-negotiable support to address the underlying causes of poor behaviour
• Better prevention to tackle problems before they become serious and entrenched, and to prevent problems arising in the first place
More details here
May 7 2008 Cannabis reclassified
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced today that cannabis will be reclassified as a Class B drug, sending the strong message that the drug is harmful.
May 8 2008 New measures to tackle anti-social behaviour
A new Action Squad to help police and local agencies make full use of all the tools and powers available to tackle anti-social behaviour in every community, backed by £255,000 of new funding, was announced today in a major speech by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
Other measures outlined by the Home Secretary included: Better joined up working by local authorities and statutory agencies; more action on poor parenting to intervene early at the first sign of problems: courts will be required to consider making a Parenting Order when giving an ASBO to 10-17 year olds; a review of measures to address anti-social behaviour on public transport; new investment for the "Taking A Stand Awards"; and anti-social behaviour practitioners in every area will be given definitive guidance about every tool at their disposal and how best to use them.
In a further measure, the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, which is expected to receive Royal Assent shortly, will extend crackhouse closure order powers to cover more serious types of anti-social behaviour. It will also include a statutory requirement to review ASBOs on all under 18 year-olds after one year to ensure the ASBO is working and to pave the way for other interventions if necessary.
June 5 2008
Prosecution age for possession of knives dropped
Anyone aged 16 or over in England and Wales who carries a knife could be taken to court, under new guidelines for police and prosecutors.
The change follows a meeting between Gordon Brown, police and legal chiefs, to extend the "presumption of prosecution" in knife cases. Previous police guidance was to prosecute adults caught with a knife, but to caution those under 18.
July 17 2008
More police on the streets and more prosecutions more knife crime
More people will see more police officers on their streets under new reforms announced today, the PM has said.
Mr Brown said that the new policing Green Paper would "clear the decks" and cut down on bureaucracy so officers could spend more time tackling crime.
He also repeated a warning that young people carrying knives would be prosecuted as new figures reportedly showed police recorded about 20,000 serious offences involving knives last year.
A new policing pledge in the Green Paper sets out a national standard on what people can expect from the police. This is underpinned in each area by a set of local priorities agreed by people in each neighbourhood.
Other Pages
Crime and Justice News 2008
Crime and Justice News 2007
Commission Work Programme 2007
Queens Speech November 2006
Commission Work Programme 2006