Just how to tackle the problem of youth crime is a question that won't go away - but a former gang member now working with ex-offenders in Kent says the Government's latest ideas are not the answer.

The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has announced plans to create 'after-school patrols' and put ex-gang members out on the streets to turn youngsters from crime.

But Bobby Cummines - who runs the Kent-based Charity UNLOCK, an organisation working with criminals who want to get their lives back on track - said: "There doesn't seem to be any strategy.

"It seems like they're just looking for a 'newspaper bite' - and they're just tomorrow's fish and chip paper."

Mr Cummines regularly goes into schools to talk to youngsters about the dangers of getting involved in crime - but he claims ex-gang members and children who aspire to be part of a gang are not a good mixture.

"You've got to be very careful," he added. "First, you must be sure they're rehabilitated themselves and ,secondly, if it's not done right it could turn into a way of grooming these kids into crime."

• Audio: Listen to Bobby Cummines talking to kmfm's Aurelia Allen >>>

Mr Cummines served 13 years in prison for his part in an armed robbery as a youngster. Like many, he points to education and blames problems among young people on the breakdown of the family.

"It's not just about educating children but also educating parents into being good parents and learning good citizenship skills," he added.

Mr Cummines does much of his work with young people in Kent and warned that the violence in the capital is working its way into the Garden of England.

He said: "The drug industry's flooded out of London and now you've got people in Kent fighting for turf.

"There are places in Kent which are very much like parts of London - where people are too scared to come out of their homes after 9pm - and that can't be right."