Labour promise violent crime crackdown

Labour has pledged to clamp down on alcohol-fuelled crime and introduce a Violent Crime Reduction Bill if they win the next general election.

Speaking at a Labour party conference, Home Office Minister Hazel Blears announced that Labour would grant new powers to the police and councils to set up Alcohol Disorder Zones, which would force pubs and clubs in the worst areas to pay towards dealing with the problem.

Ms Blears also said Labour would give councils the power to require problem venues to use safe beer glasses and drinks bottles, as well as ban drinking on public transport.

Ms Blears announced that police would be given more authority to tackle “yobs”, with plans to allow them to require pubs and clubs in trouble spots to search for knives on entry; shut down clubs and pubs for 24 hours if they serve under-age drinkers; ban intoxicated persons from all local pubs and clubs for 24 hours; and ban offenders who’ve committed more than three offences from all pubs and clubs within a certain area.

Mark Hastings, Director of Communications of the British Beer and Pub Association, described the new measures as “strange”. He said: “These powers have been in place for four years, so it seems strange that the government wants to introduce them again as a new Bill. The police should enforce these rules and shut down problem pubs, rather than just having the same old moans.”

The British Beer and Pub Association has also previously criticised proposals to introduce minimum price schemes to limit “all you can drink” promotions, stating that such measures are prohibited under UK and European law. The Association also criticised plans to make clubs pay for policing, saying that the industry already pays more than £22 billion in taxes and invested over £60 million per year in security measures.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke also pledged to reduce crime by a further 15%, saying: “The fight against crime and particularly violent crime and anti-social behaviour is a number one priority for Labour.”

Mr Clarke unveiled plans to increasing the number of Police Community Support Officers to 24,000 by 2008 and give local communities a greater say in setting local police priorities.

The Home Secretary also unveiled plans for a flagship Violent Crime Reduction Bill, which he said would be introduced "within weeks" of a general election. Among the proposals in the bill are; a clampdown on the ownership and use of replica firearms and knives; tougher sentences for knife and gun crimes and new anti-social behaviour measures, including plans to publicly name perpetrators of anti-social behaviour.

The Conservatives have also pledged to tackle alcohol-fuelled disorder with plans to recruit 5,000 more police officers; grant local councils the power to restrict the issue of late night licenses to venues and block license extensions to premises where binge-drinking is a problem; and stop “irresponsible” drinks promotions.

(KMcA/GB)