"Booze ASBOs" call time on problem drinkers

Tough new powers to crack down on people responsible for alcohol-fuelled crime and antisocial behaviour have come into force, Home Office Minister Alan Campbell announced yesterday.

From today police and local authorities will be able to apply for Drinking Banning Orders (DBO) on individuals aged 16 and upwards who regularly commit crime or anti-social behaviour while under the influence of the alcohol.

Magistrates will be able to impose any condition they think is necessary under the "booze ASBOs" to protect the public from that individual committing further offences. This could include banning from consuming alcohol in public places, including certain pubs, bars and off licences and restricting them from entering certain areas.

The orders can last from between two months and two years and anyone who breaches a DBO is liable for a fine of up to £2,500. Offenders who are subject to an order can be referred a Positive Behaviour Intervention Course to address their alcohol misuse. Successful completion of the course may lead to a reduction in the length of the order.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said:

"Tackling crime and disorder linked to alcohol is one of our top priorities and we have made real progress but with the cost to the UK totalling billions of pounds a year we know there is still more to be done.

"These orders will stop those people who are well known to the authorities, licencees and often the communities where they live, from ruining lives and will make them face up to their destructive behaviour.

"If irresponsible drinkers do not accept support, these orders will ensure that they face some very real consequences." Jeremy Beadles, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said:

"We welcome steps to crackdown on those who commit crime or are involved in anti-social behaviour after misusing alcohol. Tough enforcement against offenders is critical if we are to change the culture around problem drinking.

"We support Government steps to encourage police, local authorities and magistrates to use the powers at their disposal to combat the behaviour of a troublesome minority."

Don Shenker, Alcohol Concern Chief Executive, said:

"Used as part of a package of measures to reduce alcohol harms these initiatives can make a real difference to safety on our streets.

"Policing of alcohol-related crime must go hand in hand with more robust measures to curb irresponsible and illegal sales and improved treatment pathways for dependent drinkers.

"We welcome the idea of positive behaviour courses to educate people about alcohol harm – these courses should be available for everyone who has been given a Drinking Banning Order. "

DBO Positive Behaviour Intervention Courses will be available across the country and will be run by a list of approved providers. The Government is not supporting these courses financially and participants will be expected to pay a fee for attending the courses, between £120 and £250, to cover the costs.

Taking the initiative in the fight against mobile phone crime

Action to prevent criminals abusing new mobile phone technology, which allows them to be used like debit, credit and pre-pay cards, has been agreed by the Government, mobile phone and card payments industries, Home Office Minister Alan Campbell announced today.

The new technology, which will allow customers to buy things by swiping them over sensors in a similar way to Oyster cards, is being trialled by phone companies and banks in the UK. In an effort to design out opportunities for crime and reduce harm to consumers the government has been working with industry to ensure the technology builds in tough security measures at the earliest stages.

Working with the government the mobile phone and banking industry have agreed to a set of guidelines. They have committed to ensuring consumers are not put at an increased risk due to the development of this technology, especially young people who are often the earliest adopters of technology and suffer from disproportionate risk. The guidelines include:

• ensuring contactless payment functions, SIM cards and phones will be disabled as soon as possible once a contactless payment mobile phone is reported lost or stolen;

• that any transactions above the maximum contactless payment value (currently £10) will require verification, such as a pin code, similar to the current guidelines that underpin existing contactless card payment schemes. Additional security such as a pin codes will also be required if more than a certain number of low-value transactions are carried out consecutively; and

• any customer who signs up for a contactless payment phone will be encouraged to add their details on the National Mobile Phone Register to make it easier for stolen phones to be identified and recovered.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said:

“These guidelines are an important step forward in protecting the public from criminals. I am pleased that the mobile and banking industries have worked with us to ensure that the public are protected at the earliest opportunity.

“By working closely with industry we have already put in place measures to make it harder for thieves to profit from mobile phone theft – around 90 per cent of handsets reported stolen are now blocked within 24 hours of reporting reducing their value and the incentive for criminals.

“This technology is an exciting new development but we must continue to work together to reduce any new opportunities for criminals to profit from mobile theft. As new technologies like this develop we aim to consider where safeguards can be incorporated at the drawing board stage.”

Jack Wraith, spokesman for the Mobile Phone Industry said:

“The Mobile Phone Industry has welcomed the opportunity to work with the Banking Industry in developing these guidelines to ensure that the customer experience in using contactless payments, via mobile devices, is both secure and robust. The mobile phone is an integral part of modern day life and the Mobile Phone Industry will continue to work with all stakeholders to mitigate any risk to our customers in the operation of contactless payment technology.

“The partnership, between the customer and their home network is core to the customer experience in using mobile phones and while the banking industry develops payment applications the Mobile Phone Industry will continue to provide support, advice and best practice to protect this experience. The Mobile Phone Industry welcomes the support of the Government and Police in the ongoing fight to prevent criminals from benefiting from mobile phone theft”

Paul Marsh, Director of The UK Cards Association, said:

"We have welcomed the opportunity to engage in discussions with the Home Office, the mobile phone industry, Visa and MasterCard at this early stage, to ensure that principles around customer protection are agreed across the board. The payments industry is sensitive to customer concerns’ about security and has always set high standards for its products; any new payment solutions will be developed with precisely this in mind."

Contactless payment phones use near-field communication technology to authorise payments on an individual’s credit or debit cards or pre-paid account.

Previous advances in technology have led to unexpected new forms of crime; email heralded the phenomenon of ‘phishing’, ATMs precipitated the new crime of ‘card catching’ and online banking gave rise to ‘key logging’, used by fraudsters to track the input of secret passwords and account numbers.

However, there are also many examples of design being applied successfully to reduce opportunities for crime – for example, British Crime Survey figures show theft of vehicles has reduced by 51 per cent since 1997 as a result of improved security being designed into the vehicle, and an evaluation of houses built to the ACPO Secured By Design (SBD) standards showed that these experience 26 per cent less crime than non SBD houses, and residents fear of crime is lower.

Money for people to keep homes safe

More than 45,000 homes will have their security improved after a cash injection of nearly £5 million from the government, Home Office Minister Alan Campbell pledged today.

The money has been allocated from the £6million Safer Homes Fund which was set up in April to pay for local handy-people to visit up to 45,000 homes in 93 priority areas. The areas chosen are those where people are less likely to have good home security, such as older people and people on low incomes, will have security devices such as window locks installed, making their houses more secure.

The cash has been awarded to 66 voluntary and community projects who bid for the grants and will use it to help secure homes and provide training, community awareness events and security checks of vulnerable peoples’ homes.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said:

“Burglary has fallen nationally by 54 percent since 1997 but there are always changing patterns in crime. We know that during economic downturns certain crimes face upward pressure but we are already taking action to tackle this issue head on.

“Preventing burglary can be as simple as locking your doors and windows, yet 18 per cent of people don’t have proper door locks and 14 per cent don’t have window locks. These grants will help make the homes of thousands of people more secure and show them the simple steps they can take to protect themselves.

“This is just one part of a wider strategy which includes providing more money and resources to 35 areas to tackle burglary and robbery by cracking down on known offenders. We are also supplying free information packs for the public with money off vouchers on home security devices.”

Graeme Gerrard, Deputy Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary and Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead on burglary said:

“There are still too many burglaries occurring as a result of poor security and any initiative that makes houses more secure is bound to reduce burglary offences.

“The police service has worked closely on this initiative and welcomes the allocation of additional funding to help secure homes in the most vulnerable areas.

“Police officers are working hard to make life difficult for burglars. By targeting persistent offenders, making best use of forensic science and using neighbourhood officers to patrol vulnerable areas and offer crime prevention advice, we are making local streets and neighbourhoods safer.”

Gillian Guy, Victim Support’s Chief Executive, said:

“We are really pleased to be one of the beneficiaries of the money from the Safer Homes Fund - it will be a major boost to our work on the ground, helping to secure victims’ homes after a crime has taken place.

“We know that practical help is just one part of the support that victims need after a crime - the emotional impact can be devastating, and there is often a long healing process that Victim Support helps with. However, if people know their homes are secure this is an important step towards helping them to get on with their lives.”

There is still more than £1 million of the Safer Homes Fund to be allocated as grants which could help to secure up to 15,000 further properties.

(Home Office) Tackling drugs in our communities

National Tackling Drugs Week was launched today by Home Office Minister Alan Campbell. The awareness week, which runs from 8 - 12 June 2009, will see a range of partners including drug treatment agencies, local authorities, substance misuse voluntary workers, police and community groups highlighting their work to rid communities across the country of drugs.

Various activities are planned throughout the week to showcase the scale of public services and local organisations who work together to tackle drugs and make communities safer. Right across the country police enforcement to target drug dealers, education schemes teaching young people the harm caused by drugs and support structures for individuals and their families affected by drug use are ongoing.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said:

"National Tackling Drugs Week is about highlighting and promoting the work that goes on throughout the year in communities to reduce the very real harm caused by illegal substances.

"I want to thank those who go that extra mile to tackle drug use, by working tirelessly to bring to justice dealers who blight our communities, educating youngsters about the dangers of drugs and supporting friends and family of drug misusers. I know this work is making our communities safer and happier places in which to live and work.

"We can only do this through joint action between partners such as police forces, drug treatment agencies and local authorities which combine tough enforcement, treatment and awareness campaigns for the benefit of everyone."

Deputy Chief Constable Tony Melville, the Association of Chief Police Officers lead for National Tackling Drugs Week, said:

"National Tackling Drugs Week is an ideal opportunity to showcase the work of all police forces and enforcement agencies in the fight against drugs. We want local people to see and understand what we do in order to keep our local communities safe.

"Those of us who are responsible for law enforcement recognise the need to take a firm stance against those involved in criminal activity involving illicit drugs. We want local people to be confident that their concerns are understood and action is being taken to tackle drugs and drug related crime.

"The response, from police forces in support of the week, has been excellent with colleagues from around the country keen to demonstrate some of the significant, and widespread, work being undertaken regarding drug enforcement."

(Home Office) Consultation launched to tighten regulations for wheel clamping businesses

A major new consultation has begun into plans to subject rogue wheel clamping businesses to tough new regulations, the Home Office announced today.

The public consultation, which sets out proposals for licensing wheel clamping firms, will run for 12 weeks. It is an opportunity for members of the public and all interested groups including wheel clamping businesses and motoring organisations to have their say.

The Government's proposals include the introduction of compulsory licensing to tackle the limited number of wheel clamping businesses whose practices include excessive fines for releasing clamped cars, towing cars unreasonably quickly after being clamped and putting up hidden, missing or confusing signs warning drivers that clamping takes place.

Currently, any individual undertaking wheel clamping must hold a frontline licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), with supervisors or directors holding a non-frontline licence. The new proposals could also make it mandatory for the business itself to be licensed to help ensure it upholds standards of conduct, which will be enforced if they are not met.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell, said:

"There are clearly a minority of wheel clamping businesses that indulge in unacceptable behaviour including unclear signage and excessive fees.

"The Government intends to take firm action to prevent abuses by some of these firms and their employees.

"This consultation paper is designed to canvass views on a range of options for controls and is a vital step towards putting an end to rogue practices by some clampers."