MOST thieving is the result of wickedness and greed and has nothing to

do with poverty, Employment Secretary David Hunt said today in a

controversial document.

''It is often said that poverty -- and unemployment -- create crime.

In my experience the converse is true,'' he said.

''Some of the so-called cultures springing up in our country reject

all decency and civilised values -- the cultures of the housebreaker,

the hippy, and the hoodlum.

''The bulk of thieving today, of course, has nothing to do with

poverty. It is the result of wickeness and greed. Drug users may be too

pathetic to be termed greedy, but drug dealers are not.

''They license all too much of today's crime, sending out addicts to

rob and mug, then raking in the financial rewards. Almost nobody today

robs to buy food, and they do not mug to buy school clothes for their

children.

''No degree of poverty in Britain today forces people into crime to

subsist. We should not confuse rising expectations and demands with

'poverty'.''

Mr Hunt asked how any disaffected youngster could be pulled back from

the brink of a pointless and anti-social life.

''This is a basic and fundamental question, and the answer is also

basic and fundamental. I, and millions of others, learned about the

difference between right and wrong at an early age -- from my parents,

at school and in those days from the media.

''Family, friends and neighbours are the basic building blocks of any

balanced and moral society.''

Mr Hunt said there were countless beacons of hope and optimism in

Britain, many of them in the toughest areas, in the form of admirable

co-operatives and community entrepreneurs who were breathing life back

into those areas and recreating communities.

''For every young car thief there are many, many more industrious

youngsters working away in City Technology Colleges.''

Mr Hunt added: ''But the good sense and success of some cannot be an

excuse for the depravity of others, nor can it disguise it. Societies,

after all, can legitimately be judged on the performance of their least

successful members, and there is enormous room for improvement.''

Mr Hunt said: ''It is often said that poverty and unemployment create

crime. In my experience, the converse is true.

''The #2 billion cost of crimes against retailers is borne by

consumers and by reduced employment. It is depressingly common for a

small shop to lose #10,000 a year through petty crime -- the equivalent

of a job, and these are just the figures for retailing.''

* Right Ahead, Conservatism and the Social Market by David Hunt is

published by the Conservative Political Centre.