Think tank urges tough line on crime

David Blunkett's tough line on crime was today challenged by a think tank with close links to No 10.

The Home Secretary was urged to abolish hundreds of petty criminal offences and cut massively the number of people sent to prison.

The proposals, which would mean a drastic U-turn in the Government's approach to law and order, are floated in a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, a group which is influential in Downing Street.

It criticises Mr Blunkett for launching ever-tougher crackdowns on crime, with the result that police, the courts and prisons are overwhelmed.

"The Government is under immense pressure to be seen to be tough on crime and has lacked confidence in promoting its alternative, more effective, measures," says the report.

Among the findings are that a third of men acquire criminal convictions by the age of 40, many finding it harder to get a job as a result. They include 160,000 each year prosecuted for not buying a television licence, 3,500 convicted of being drunk and 2,000 found guilty of begging.

The report calls for the prison population to be reduced from 71,000 to the EU average of 49,000, saving £ 800million which should be ploughed into community penalties for minor offenders and better care for the mentally ill.

Minor charges would become civil offences instead, which means offenders could still be fined - the punishment meted out in the vast majority of cases already.

The report says the best guarantee that people do not reoffend is for them to get a job.