BLUNKETT REJECTS 'ZERO TOLERANCE' POLICY ON CRIME

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, will reject the "zero tolerance"
approach to policing in a speech next week to the chief constables of
England and Wales.

The message is the latest example of Mr Blunkett rejecting the more
right-wing ideas of his predecessor, Jack Straw. It comes as the Home
Secretary publishes his Police Bill today, designed to overhaul the service
by improving efficiency and introducing thousands of uniformed civilian
patrollers.

Mr Blunkett will tell police chiefs in London on Tuesday that he does not
consider the zero-tolerance policy a " which involves police officers
"aggressively" pursuing those responsible even for the most minor offences
a " is appropriate to Britain.

A Home Office source said: "The Home Secretary does not subscribe to the
zero tolerance idea. The tag will never fit in Britain.

"Mr Straw was happy to use the term when he announced his Crime and
Disorder Bill in 1997. He said: "It's about implementing a zero tolerance
strategy. It's not a magic wand. There are no magic wands about dealing
with human behaviour. The more I am able to make people feel safer, the
better it is.

"Mr Blunkett's rejection of the term "zero tolerance" follows his decision
to do away with Mr Straw's programme of issuing vouchers to asylum-seekers,
and his reversal of his predecessor's refusal to liberalise the laws on
cannabis.