Probation boss warns there is no simple cure to problem

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Andrew Bridges, the chief inspector of probation, highlighted the risks of trying to find a "cure-all" in attempts to reduce offending rates.

"We tend to be beguiled by exciting fallacies," he said. "We need to focus more on the mundane truths instead of being distracted by thinking that there is a cure-all here. If you are working with offenders, what you need to do is to do the right thing, with the right individual, at the right time and in the right way."

In his annual report he stressed there are no "simple solutions" to reduce offending and voiced scepticism about what he described as "spectacular innovations".

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was forced into a humiliating climbdown yesterday on plans to take knife offenders to visit stab victims in casualty.

After an outcry from doctors, the Cabinet minister ditched the proposal, suggesting that young criminals would instead meet medics to discuss the impact of knife violence.

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve accused the Government of "gimmickry" and "constructing policy in three days, abandoning it in three hours".

Ministers were today unveiling a long-awaited youth crime action plan. The families of up to 20,000 unruly teenagers will face fines and eviction from council houses if parents fail to help tackle their offspring's yobbish behaviour.

Other measures expected today are more investment in non-custodial sentences as well as more support with housing and education.

Young people who carry knives could face being forced to spend Friday and Saturday nights in community service. Curfews may also be imposed.

Mr Brown said: "Too many people do not feel safe in the streets as a result of the behaviour of a minority."