CLARKE
LONDON (Reuters):
ROBBERY AND drug offences jumped over the last three months of 2005, according to figures released yesterday which will be more bad news for embattled Home Secretary Charles Clarke.
Drug offences in England and Wales shot up by over a fifth, while robberies rose six per cent, with violent crime rising one per cent overall, based on the number of incidents recorded by police.
But the overall level of reported crime remained stable compared to the same period in 2004, the Home Office said.
The data adds to pressure on Clarke after the revelation his office had released over 1,000 convicted foreign nationals from British jails over the past seven years without considering them for deportation.
Clarke said there was "still too much violent crime" but added that he was encouraged the level was stabilising. He said the government had made progress in reducing violent crime and that the rise in robbery had to be put in context.
"The figures are still well below those for 2001/2, before the street crime initiative, when robbery was at its height," he added.
Clarke has asked detectives to check the names of the released foreign prisoners against the Police National Computer to see if they have committed any offences since coming out of jail.
A spokeswoman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said they hoped to report back to Clarke by the weekend.
If many are discovered to have committed serious crimes since jail, it will add to the image of disorganisation at Clarke's department, analysts said.
"Their eye has simply not been on the ball of day-to-day administration. This is the absolute hallmark of this government," shadow Attorney General Dominic Grieve told BBC News 24.
Clarke offered to resign over the bungle, but Prime Minister Tony Blair asked him to stay on.
The Home Office said it was working to discover the identity of 915 prisoners currently in jail whose nationality is not recorded on its central computer database.
Foreign offenders make up around 10,000 of the nearly 77,000 prisoners held in jails in England and Wales.
Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton said Clarke had been "honest and straight" with the public and the cabinet.
"He's got the support not just of the prime minister but of every member of the cabinet in the job that he is doing," Hutton told BBC radio.
2006-04-27 10:28:18 GMT (Reuters)
