Police back secure units for the young

Delegates at a police superintendents' conference voted almost unanimously in favour of the Home Secretary Michael Howard's plans for 200 secure training units for persistent young offenders yesterday.

Roger Smith, of the Children's Society, failed to convince the conference in Warwickshire that the secure units for persistent young offenders were not the way forward. The conference gave its support to the plans after watching police videos of young criminals in Salford, Greater Manchester, beating victims with wooden sticks as they tried to reclaim their snatched belongings.