The Danish government plans to double the penalties for crimes committed in deprived "ghetto" areas, where immigrant numbers are above-average.

It is part of a drive to have "no more ghettos by 2030", Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.

The government lists 22 areas as "ghettos", where more than 50% of residents are non-Western immigrants.

The plan would let local police chiefs impose double punishments for some crimes, such as vandalism or theft.

Justice Minister Soeren Pape Poulsen, who leads the Danish Conservative Party, explained the initiative to Danish DR news.

"If there has been more vandalism, violence, threats and so on, then the local police chief can say that this is now a harsh penalty zone, and the penalty will be doubled when you commit a crime there."

He denied that harsher penalties in one area could simply drive criminals into other areas.

"It has to be safe to live anywhere in Denmark," he stressed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43214596