David Ruffley

YOUTH offending teams in Wiltshire are working with more than 100 young criminals to help them get back on the straight and narrow, new figures have shown.

There are 111 child tearaways currently known to the teams and Wiltshire Police for having committed three or more crimes, up from 71 youths in 1997.

And the number of crimes committed by the persistent young offenders has risen from 104 to 190 in the same period, according to the Ministry of Justice figures.

There have been Asbo yobs and hoodies - now we have PYOs.

PYOs, or persistent young offenders, are anyone aged 10 to 17 who is guilty of at least one crime on four or more separate occasions within a certain number of years.

New figures have revealed a dramatic rise in the number of PYOs in Sussex.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show that the number of PYOs in the county has trebled in the past 11 years.

THE number of young offenders repeatedly committing crimes has soared by 60% since Labour came to power.

Ministry of Justice figures published today revealed that the number of Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) in England and Wales increased from 9,868 in 1997 to 15,819 last year.

The number of offences they commit each year has risen by more than 80% - to nearly 80 a day.

A Persistent Young Offender is someone aged 10-17 sentenced for a criminal offence three times or more times over three years.

THE number of yobs repeatedly committing crimes has soared by 60% since Labour came to power, new figures revealed today.

Ministry of Justice figures revealed that the number of Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) in England and Wales increased from 9,868 in 1997 to 15,819 last year.

The number of offences they commit each year has risen by more than 80% - to nearly 80 every day.

A Persistent Young Offender is someone aged 10-17 sentenced for a recordable offence three times or more over three years.

THE number of yobs repeatedly committing crimes has risen by 60% since 1997, new figures will reveal today.

Ministry of Justice figures show the number of Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) in England and Wales increased from 9,868 in 1997 to 15,819 last year.

The number of offences they commit each year has risen by more than 80% to nearly 80 every day.

A Persistent Young Offender is someone aged 10- 17 sentenced for a recordable offence three times or more over three years.

The figures were revealed to the Tories in written parliamentary answers.

THE number of young repeat offenders on Britain's streets has increased by 60 per cent in a decade, according to police records.

The figures, obtained by David Ruffley , the Conservative police reform minister, also suggest that the number of crimes committed by persistent young offenders doubled in the 10 years to 2008. A persistent young offender (PYO) is defined as anyone aged 10 to 17 who has been convicted in a British criminal court on at least three occasions and reoffends within three years.

David Ruffley MP has welcomed the opening of the new Norton mobile Post Office which is now operating from the car park of Norton Village Hall, Ixworth Road, Norton, IP31 3LE from 14.30-16.30 Monday to Friday each week.

The new mobile service has been set up to replace the old Norton Post Office which closed last September. It provides the same range of services as the former Norton Post Office. The new service is operated by Sally Reeves.

HOME Office staff spent more than £1million on taxis last year — 33 times more than when Labour first won power.

It takes the total blown on cabs over the last 11 years to a staggering £5.6million.

On top of that the Home Office spent nearly £1million on car hire last year.

Jacqui Smith's department blamed the rise on staff being forced to travel at short notice on "operational work".

But Tories last night branded the figures "utterly disgraceful" and called for an immediate block on the use of taxis.

HOME Office staff spent almost £ 2million on taxis and car hire last year.

Taxis alone cost taxpayers £1,045,671 in 2008-09. Only £30,000 was spent during Labour's first year in power.

The bill for car hire has reached £917,908, with the Home Office and UK Borders Agency spending £862,644 and the Identity and Passport Service another £55,264.

The scale of the travel perks emerged yesterday in a series of Parliamentary answers to questions from MP David Ruffley .

EXPENSES The Home Office spent more than £1m on taxis and the same amount on car hire last year, it was revealed yesterday. Spending on cabs went up 16 per cent in 2008-09 to £1,045,671, Immigration minister Phil Woolas said. The figures, revealed to the Tories in response to written parliamentary questions, showed a huge increases in taxi spending since Labour came to power. Shadow police reform minister David Ruffley said the spending was "utterly disgraceful" and called for a clampdown.