Crimewave warning if spending cut

Crime will rise and there will be more victims if "draconian" public spending cuts of 25 per cent go ahead, a union warned today.

Probation union Napo said many programmes for offenders in the community will be cut or withdrawn if the proposed cuts go ahead.

But the Government said there was no evidence that cuts to the Probation Service would lead to an increase in crime and Cabinet ministers vowed last week to stand firm against “vested interests” pleading for special treatment.

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Napo assistant general secretary Harry Fletcher said: “The gains of the last decade risk being jeopardised because of draconian cuts. The Probation Service will not be able to maintain the same level of service.”

“It is ironic that if the programmes are not available, prison will certainly be used by sentencers as an alternative.”

Roz Brown of the Probation Chiefs Association (PCA) said the spending cuts would have an “inevitable impact” on front line services. “We have already been forced to make significant economies over the past two years, with management and recruitment bearing the brunt. Now there will be an inevitable impact on the front line.”

But a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Public protection is one of our main priorities and there is no evidence to suggest that savings made to the Probation Service will compromise this or increase crime.

“The coalition Government is also looking at how private and voluntary sector providers can get involved in running rehabilitation services to make them tougher for criminals.”

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