The measures could be too punitive, charities say

Home Secretary David Blunkett announced steps to punish aggressive beggars and nuisance neighbours and to remove abandoned cars.

But charities are worried that the measures do not address the root causes of anti-social behaviour.

Among plans outlined by Mr Blunkett on Tuesday, the worst offending nuisance neighbours could be relocated, while others could see their tenancy contracts reduced from 12 to six months, be sent to parenting classes or issued with fixed penalty notices.

The crime reduction charity Nacro said the measures were "heavy handed".

Charity director Keith Towler said there was "unnecessary emphasis on enforcement and punishment".

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"In using the full weight of the criminal justice system against people who have committed no criminal offence, the government risks stigmatising them and risks damaging community relations."

The government "risks exacerbating the underlying causes rather than tackling them as a priority", he said.

In its own approach to anti-social behaviour, Nacro suggests that enforcement works best with a range of community prevention programmes and individually-focused education and mentoring initiatives.

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"It is about socially-based answers to socially-based problems.

"It should not be about blurring the boundary between what are essentially civil issues and what are criminal justice issues," Mr Towler said.

Liverpool, which will have government support for removing abandoned vehicles, said it would continue its successful scheme of removing abandoned vehicles.

Success recognised

In a combined effort with police and the fire service, the council said its scheme removes abandoned vehicles within 48 hours, a spokesman said.

"The government measures recognise our success. We are always being held up as an example to other councils.

"We'll continue to develop this because it is what the people of Liverpool want."

In the first six months of the scheme, which started in 2002, 878 vehicles were removed, including about 100 that had been stolen.

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Since the scheme started, there had been a 51% reduction in the number of abandoned cars burnt out.

Shelter, a charity concerned with homelessness, said the government's proposed measures were "hardline".

It has developed an anti-social behaviour scheme, Inclusion in Rochdale, that aims to support homeless people or those at risk of homelessness due to alleged anti-social behaviour.

It works with people to change their behaviour and to help them retain their housing.

"Those engaging in anti social behaviour may well have a history of mental health problems, drug and alcohol addiction or have suffered abuse or violence.

"Tougher measures focused solely on punishing offenders, will exacerbate these problems," said Shelter director Adam Sampson.

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Civil liberties group Liberty also said it feared underlying causes were being ignored.

Liberty's head of policy Gareth Crossman said: "The government should stop pretending that everyone on the streets is a 'professional beggar' and look again at the real causes of homelessness."

The Police Federation head Jan Berry said: "It is extremely frustrating for police officers to try to remove some of these young people from the streets when all they see is them going back onto the streets with no real sanction taking place."