David Ruffley

Foreign murderers and rapists have been free to prey on the British public for a year because of yet another data loss scandal.

DNA samples for up to 4,000 suspects, wanted for a range of serious crimes, were circulated throughout Europe by the Dutch authorities in January 2007.

In Britain, they were sent to the Attorney General's office, which passed them to the Crown Prosecution Service.

LEAKED MEMO: NOW POLICE WANT RESIDENTS TO PATROL THEIR STREETS

Teams of Neighbourhood Watch members are to be asked to do jobs previously left to the police.

The civilian groups could spy on villains, patrol crime-hit estates at night and even check car tax discs.

In some cases they would form secret groups to gather intelligence. Details of the plan are contained in a leaked memo sent to chief constables in the last few days. It brought immediate accusations that the Government is aiming for more policing 'on the cheap'.

Thousands to go as police replaced by civilians, spy cameras and computers

Thousands of police jobs will be axed as more civilians and high-tech equipment are used in the war against crime.

Routine tasks done by cops will be taken on by civilian staff in a huge shake up of the service.

And spy cameras and computer wizardry will be used more to capture crooks.

The huge changes were announced in the Commons by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday and spelt out in detail in a review of policing by top cop Sir Ronnie Flanagan.

The size of the police force will have to be cut, with more civilians in posts previously filled by uniformed officers, a Home Office report into the future of the service has concluded.

It also set out plans to slash police paperwork, calculating that up to seven million hours of police time - equivalent to 3,500 officers - could be freed up as a result.

The proposals, which include recording details of minor crimes in a "much more concise way", were welcomed by Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, and are likely to form the basis of a wide-ranging overhaul of the service.

Crime committed by girls - some as young as ten - has soared by 25 per cent, official figures will reveal this week.

The crimewave will pile pressure on ministers, with the offending rate by teenage boys remaining stubbornly high.

It puts the spotlight on the introduction of 24-hour drinking, blamed for forcing many young girls off the rails by making it easier for teenagers to obtain alcohol.

The Government's critics will also point to evidence showing girl gangs are a growing phenomenon, particularly in towns and cities.

Petrol prices continued to climb yesterday as experts predicted they will hit £6 a gallon by September.

The average price of unleaded has crashed through the £5 (110.2p a litre) mark- meaning a £61 bill to fill the typical tank.

But by the end of summer drivers could be paying £6.81 a gallon (£1.50 a litre). It would raise the average cost of filling a tank by 37% to £84.

The £1.50-a-litre prediction was made by price comparison experts at uSwitch. com.

Its consumer policy director Ann Robinson said: "The outlook is bleak.

Motorists paid an estimated pounds 800 million in fines in 2006 after being caught by traffic wardens, police and speed cameras, figures showed yesterday.

In all, 12.7 million offences were committed, including speeding, using a mobile phone at the wheel and illegal parking.

On-the-spot fines rose while more serious offences punished by courts fell, leading to accusations that motorists are being exploited to bolster local authority funds.

Speed cameras and council staff trapped 9.8 million drivers, the equivalent of one in every three licensed vehicles.

One in three drivers is caught each year by a parking warden or speed camera.

The total rises to more than four in ten when the number of motorists trapped by the police is included.

The collective fines are worth up to £800million. The number of more serious offences punished by the courts, such as dangerous or drink driving, has slumped however.

The official figures gave rise last night to claims that drivers are being used as cash cows in a surveillance society.

The number of gun and knife killings has risen by more than a quarter since Labour came to power, the Home Office's latest crime statistics reveal.

They show the number of Britons beaten to death each year has risen even more dramatically, increasing by 57 per cent since 1998.

Opposition critics last night claimed the bleak figures show the Government has grown 'complacent' about crime amid mounting public concern about the rise in gun and knife culture, particularly in major cities.

Lukeswood- Elmswell's community woodland project- has been chosen for the final of the People's Millions TV competition, run by the Big Lottery Fund.

If the Elmswell project wins on Monday evening, £49,999 will be awarded to the Lukeswood project- 7 acres of amenity woodland open to all- that will enrich the lives of Elmswell residents for generations to come. Lukeswood will be competing against a project in Lowestoft.