Knife thugs will be forced to clean up the streets on Friday and Saturday nights in an effort to stop the shocking violence blighting Britain.
Gordon Brown yesterday ruled out automatic jail sentences for anybody caught carrying a blade but pledged stiffer community punishments.
And he vowed to shame youngsters into binning their knives by making them wear a special uniform while carrying out up to 300 hours of graffiti cleaning or sweeping the streets.
As part of his plan to get to grips with young criminals, Mr Brown also wants to see problem families identified and given "parenting contracts" spelling out when children can be allowed out.
He has called for town halls to use powers to introduce curfews for under-16s.
And he wants 20,000 of the most out-of-control families to be given their own government advisers to help turn their lives around or face council house eviction.
Mr Brown's anti-knife proposals came amid an embarrassing U-turn by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith over plans to take knife thugs on tours of accident and emergency departments to see the consequences of their actions.
On Sunday, Miss Smith had outlined the plan for thugs to tour casualties.
But yesterday she insisted: "We are not, and I have never said we are, proposing to bring young people into wards to see patients face to face."
LibDem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "Thank heavens the Home Secretary has seen sense.
"This idea is not just bonkers, but has been tried, tested and failed in the US."
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