Labour has been urged to strip benefits from parents whose children repeatedly terrorise communities with anti-social behaviour.
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith called on ministers to “re-take our streets from the gangs” as a major report proposed tougher punishments for problem households.
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The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which Sir Iain chairs, has called for families living in social housing to face eviction where a member of the household persistently engages in anti-social behaviour.
The proposed powers would apply regardless of the age of the person responsible, meaning parents could ultimately lose their homes over the repeated behaviour of their children.
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Unpaid fines for anti-social behaviour could also be deducted directly from Universal Credit at 15 per cent of the standard allowance.
The proposals come after the proportion of adults who said they had witnessed or experienced anti-social behaviour rose to 41 per cent in 2025/26, up from 36 per cent the previous year, according to the CSJ.
Sir Iain described anti-social behaviour as “the single greatest issue affecting the law-abiding public”.
He said it had become “a case of police and councils turning a blind eye as it gets worse”.
Sir Iain added: “We must re-take our streets from the gangs for the sake of law-abiding citizens.
“I urge ministers to take this report and its proposals seriously.”
The think tank has also called for councils to be given powers to introduce three-month bans on face coverings in areas plagued by crime.
Its Hijacked High Streets inquiry sets out 32 proposals aimed at tackling crime, disorder and social breakdown on Britain’s high streets.
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The report also calls for repeat shoplifters to face GPS tagging, curfews and restrictions preventing them from entering certain areas.
Security guards would be handed greater powers to detain suspected shoplifters, while retailers would be encouraged to report every theft to police.
Ministers have also been urged to clear the way for retailers to use facial recognition technology to identify prolific offenders.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “If people do not feel safe on their high streets, they will not visit them.
“Labour have compounded the problem by being soft on crime, failing to tackle dodgy vendors and rolling out tax hikes that have forced much-loved high street businesses to close and led to whole streets being boarded up.
“Labour lack the backbone to do anything about it. Their solution to crime is to release thousands of dangerous offenders onto our streets.
“Meanwhile they have cut police numbers since the election.”
The CSJ’s wider investigation also found that more than 4,000 shops had illicit tobacco, cigarettes or vapes seized in 2025, almost 1,000 more than the previous year.
However, just eight per cent of offending premises were temporarily closed, leaving more than nine in 10 open following enforcement action.
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