Split will make Home Office fit for modern world
The Home Office is to concentrate on security and counter-terrorism, creating a slimmer department to “meet the challenges of today’s world”, the home secretary confirmed today. A new Ministry of Justice will be created within the Department for Constitutional Affairs, with responsibility for probation, prisons and sentencing policy from May 9th. This will see the […]
Home Office launches review of offender tagging
The Home Office has been forced to launch a review into the ways offenders are tagged and tracked after an undercover investigation found hundreds were going unmonitored. Group Four Securicor (G4S) is contracted by the Home Office to tag offenders and monitors more than 1,000 across the east Midlands. However, a BBC Inside Out report […]
At risk families ‘need personalised help’
Families at risk of social exclusion need personalised support from health and social services, ministers have urged. The guidance follows the publication of new government statistics that reveal 140,000 families are at risk, suffering five or more indicators of social exclusion. Support workers should intervene with tailored packages at these “critical moments”, minister for social […]
PM brands knife crime ‘horrific’
The recent spate of stabbings is “horrific” the prime minister said today, following the deaths of five young people in less than a week. Speaking at a city academy in east London today, Tony Blair said tougher sentencing would help to target and reduce crimes involving gangs, guns and knives. The maximum sentence for carrying […]
Anti-gang groups see cash boost
Community groups tackling gangs and gun crime will be able to apply for a share of £500,000 government funding from today. Groups can apply for up to £5,000 each from the sixth round of the Connected Fund, which exists to combat gangs through educational, sporting and cultural activities. The fund, designed to encourage children away […]
Blair: ‘Specific polices’ needed for most marginalised
Broad based policies aimed at encouraging marriage will do nothing to help the most disadvantaged families, the prime minister said today. In his monthly press briefing, Tony Blair argued that specific intervention at an early stage is needed to help the most dysfunctional families. The prime minister disputed claims, made recently by David Cameron, that […]
PM promises tougher stance on gun crime
The prime minister has promised that the government will respond to police calls for a tougher stance on gun crime. Speaking to BBC One’s Sunday AM programme, Tony Blair indicated that the government will move for the mandatory five year sentence for possession of a gun to be imposed on anyone over 18. At present, […]
Another blow as youth justice chief quits
The pressure on the home secretary increased today with news that the head of the Youth Justice Board (YJB), a strong critic of the government’s offender policies, has resigned. The news about Rod Morgan could not come at a worse time for John Reid, who is fighting off claims that his efforts to deal with […]
‘Respect areas’ to lead fight against yobs
The government has today named 40 local authorities that are expected to go “further and faster” in tackling anti-social behaviour in their communities. Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Plymouth are among the new “respect areas” chosen to lead the government’s efforts against noisy neighbours, young hooligans and other anti-social behaviour. Building on past successes, they […]
Blunkett admits Asbos not working
Former home secretary David Blunkett has admitted that anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) are not working and are seen as a “badge of honour” by some youngsters. The Sheffield Brightside MP was asked if he still had faith in the measures that, although introduced two years before his time at the Home Office, he championed. He […]
