Secure units plan for youth crime
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Your support makes all the difference.KENNETH CLARKE, the Home Secretary, has accelerated his plans for tackling juvenile crime in the wake of recent cases. He told Conservative MPs last night that he will announce plans for secure accommodation in a Commons statement within two weeks.
Mr Clarke confirmed that he wants the accommodation to be provided by private or voluntary operators. That is likely to rule out the prospect of bipartisan support for the measures from the Opposition in spite of a call by Tony Blair, the Labour spokesman on home affairs, for similar measures.
The Home Secretary said he would be seeking to give the youth courts the power to sentence young offenders to secure accommodation. 'I suspect Tony Blair is talking about going back to the local authorities and their secure accommodation.
'We may be closer together than the parties have been for a long time but the Labour Party has got to make the full leap in saying there is juvenile delinquency that requires the court to sentence them to secure accommodation.
'It may be caring, and educative, but we need to sentence youngsters to give people a rest from their car thefts and other crimes. Even for today's Labour Party, I suspect that is a leap too far.'
The Home Office is planning to use a backbench Bill given a Second Reading last week to toughen the law against those who offend while on bail. They could have the earlier offence taken into account.
Mr Blair made it clear he would not support the revival of a second generation of approved schools, and it appeared unlikely that Labour would support the legislation, which is expected in the autumn session of Parliament.
In calling for speedier measures, Mr Blair last night challenged Mr Clarke to study Labour's proposals, which Mr Clarke agreed to do.
Home Office sources said at the weekend that Mr Clarke would be producing a 'very green White Paper' requiring lengthy consultation. He has abandoned that idea and, instead, will announce plans he intends to proceed with.
In spite of his new mood of urgency, some Thatcherite Tories who attended the meeting of the Conservative backbench committee on home affairs accused Mr Clarke of being 'too avuncular'.
'The message was that we should seize the opportunity Labour has given and implement all the policies that we have found difficulty in implementing before because of the opposition from the libertarian and socialist groups soft on crime,' said a right-winger.
'It's no use saying that crime is rising in all European countries. We have got to take tough action here,' said another Tory MP.
Mr Clarke faced calls from Tory right-wingers for the readoption of corporal punishment. Calling for the reintroduction of caning, John Townend, a senior Tory who attended the meeting, said: 'Anyone who has dealt with animals knows that a slap at the right time does a lot of good. Children learn by pain.'
(Photograph omitted)
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