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.
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