Labour To Crackdown On Drug Related Crime

"The first thing is to really establish in the public's mind, particularly young people's minds, this profound link between drugs and crime... The police know that. They will say that almost all the serial burglars have got a very serious drugs problem...This kind of approach has worked in the United States and we think it will work here." he said.

The courts will be given powers to impose a "drug treatment and testing order" on offenders with a drugs problem, under measures to be tabled in the Crime and Disorder Bill. Mr Straw said that the person against whom the order was made would be forced to undergo a programme of treatment which would include random testing.

There is "a profound link between drugs and crime"

"They would be in the community which is cheaper than prison but if it turned out they were not clean, they were carrying on taking their drugs there would be a series of sanctions and they could end up in prison," he told BBC1's Breakfast with Frost.

The Home Secretary said that while they could be imposed on people convicted of drugs offences they would be more typically be imposed on burglars and robbers. The move comes in response to Home Office research which found that one in five of all people arrested in the UK is on heroin.

In addition, Tony Blair will this week take the first step in fulfilling his manifesto promise of appointing an American style "drugs tsar" to coordinate the fight against drugs.

A ministerial committee, chaired by Leader of the Commons, Ann Taylor, and including Mr Straw and Health Secretary, Frank Dobson, is to be formed with their first major task the appointment of this key position. One of the favourites tipped for the post is the former chief constable of Grampian Police, Ian Oliver.

The Home Secretary also condemned the drinks industry and its record of self regulation in response to the boom in sales of new alcoholic soft drinks called "alcopops", which appear to be targeted at young people.

"In my view the senior executives in the drinks industry have been wholely cynical in their pursuit of the marketing of alcopops," he said and continued that it was "no good" them complaining "as citizens" about the level of alcohol related crime and meanwhil having a hand in its development. "They've got to put their house in order" said Mr Straw.

He also spoke of his plans to tackle youth crime and look at how effective youth training centres are and how much they cost. "I am not interested in jailing young people" he said, but there are some young people who are so out of control they need to be locked up for the benefit of the community and themselves and "that is why you will see more secure accommodation coming on stream".