POLICE GAIN NEW POWERS TO SEIZE THIEVES' 'BLING'

A hard core of 5,000 career criminals who commit half of all crimes
are to be targeted in a new police surveillance campaign.

Repeat petty offenders, such as burglars and car thieves, will be
sent letters on release from prison warning them that they are being
watched by the police and will be subjected to surprise home visits.
The plans will be unveiled this week in the latest findings from a
government policy review.

The Prime Minister will also reveal new powers for police to seize
valuables such as jewellery, plasma TVs and other elements of the
'bling' lifestyle lived by many offenders such as drug dealers when
they make arrests, if they suspect these are bought with the proceeds
of crime. Currently officers need a court order to take such items
away after a conviction. The Home Office estimates that 5,000
offenders commit a million crimes a year between them. Ministers
believe targeting them could mean big reductions in crime, after a
pilot scheme found subsequent offences committed by individuals under
surveillance were reduced by 62 per cent.

A Downing Street source said: 'Some of these people can be doing 10
crimes a week, and it's often driven by drugs. It is saying, "Let's
target probation officers' time and really breathe down the necks of
these particular individuals".' The offenders will also be offered
help to come off drugs.

Tony Blair and the Home Secretary, John Reid, will be flanked by
Gordon Brown to announce the policy review's proposals on crime and
security. The package will include measures to prevent reoffending by
teenagers coming out of young offenders' institutions.

The national Asset Recovery Agency, set up by the government to seize
ill-gotten gains from criminals, was recently criticised by the
National Audit Office, which found that it had spent UKP65m to
recover UKP23m - although Downing Street will say this week it
expects to have recovered at least UKP125m by the end of this
financial year, and double that by 2009-10. The agency can only
remove assets after seeking court orders once someone has been
convicted, but increasing police seizure powers would allow
possessions to be taken even before they are charged with a crime,
speeding up the process and potentially increasing the value of
seizures, although anyone acquitted would be likely to claim their
valuables back.

Downing Street believes the change will target the high-profile
'middle merchants' of crime rather than major criminals, making the
lifestyle of dealers and low-level gangsters who flash their wealth
around look less enticing.