Retailers had lobbied for tougher measures

Fines of �80 can be given to first-time shoplifters and anyone caught drinking underage, buying alcohol for a minor or causing minor criminal damage.

People caught dropping litter will face fines of �50.

The government said more "low level offenders" would now face justice, but a crime policy think tank branded the strategy "blunt" and "ill-conceived".

Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said: "Vandalising property, fouling streets with litter, blind drunk teenagers causing trouble or stealing for a buzz - this is anti-social, criminal behaviour and a scourge on society.

"People committing these offences will no longer be let off with a verbal warning. From today, they will face immediate punishment and court action if they refuse to pay."

Ms Blears added: "Fixed penalty notices make big savings in police time, freeing them up to patrol the streets, they enable the courts to concentrate on more serious offences and give offenders an immediate punishment."

But shadow home secretary David Davis said: "A fixed penalty notice is no deterrent to a young thug intent on causing criminal damage or a drug addict shoplifting to raise money for their next fix.

"This is yet another initiative from a gimmick-crazed Home Secretary intent on trying to manipulate crime figures in the run up to a general election."

'Blunt power'

The Crime and Society Foundation, an independent think tank at King's College London, said the approach was "confusing the undesirable with the criminal".

Director Richard Garside said: "The dropped sweet wrapper or the stubbed-out cigarette might be unsightly, but summary justice and a �50 fine is an ill-conceived response.

"Slapping fines on teenagers swigging cider in the local park is hardly the way to encourage a grown-up approach to drinking.

"There are various ways that we might discourage undesirable behaviour and encourage good behaviour.

"Using the blunt power of the criminal justice system to do this is akin to fixing a watch with a hammer."

Retail crime

Fines will be applied to shoplifters where the value of the goods taken is less than �100.

Thefts of goods worth more than that will be dealt with by the courts.

The government had originally set a limit of �200 worth of goods, but bowed to pressure from shopkeepers who dubbed the measure a "shoplifter's charter".

They were worried the higher limit could encourage crime.

The British Retail Consortium has welcomed the changes, although it had lobbied for tougher measures.

In 2002, retail crime cost the national industry �2bn.