The Home Office has unveiled guidelines spelling out new police powers of arrest to tackle kerb crawlers, hit and run drivers and child pornographers.

The latest clampdown on "nuisance" behaviour in communities will come into effect on October 1. Kerb crawling will become an arrestable offence under provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act and will see offenders arrested, photographed and compelled to give fingerprints and DNA samples.

The new guidelines are expected to have a major impact on street prostitution in red-light areas such as Birmingham's Balsall Heath.

Home Office minister, Beverley Hughes, said: "The government has brought in tough new legislation to give law enforcement agencies effective powers to deal with the perpetrators of these crimes. It is essential that these powers are used as effectively as possible and the new guidance we have published today will be an invaluable tool."

She said the practice was causing real concern to many communities. "Kerb crawling and its links to street prostitution cause real problems for local communities and is often linked to violence against women. Giving the police the power to arrest suspected kerb crawlers and take them directly to the police station to be processed will help the police tackle this crime effectively and deal with the nuisance of street prostitution," said Hughes.

Kerb crawling measures have been welcomed by the police as "certain to make a huge difference to the way we approach the issue of prostitution, which is one that is notoriously difficult to police".

Birmingham Edgbaston MP, Gisela Stuart, expressed her "delight" that a measure that she has campaigned for since being elected in 1997 is now on the statute book. Stuart, who called a Commons debate on the issue in July, has campaigned over the problems posed by street prostitution in her constituency.

But she told ePolitix.com that new powers of arrest for kerb crawling was "just one of a range of measures" to combat prostitution and praised "the way the local authority has used Community Safety Orders against prostitutes".

West Midlands police have also said the new powers would be useful and promised to crackdown on kerb crawling.

"The legislation will not only bring the kerb crawlers into line with the prostitutes - who we can arrest for soliciting - but will also act as a deterrent for them. The new power will mean we can take them into custody, charge them, take fingerprints, pictures and DNA and ensure their offence gets the treatment and publicity it deserves," a spokesman told ePolitix.com.

The police currently have to summon kerb crawlers to attend a police station and cannot prevent them leaving the scene of the offence.

The guidelines will also give the police powers to detain suspected hit-and-run drivers where someone has been injured.

"Hit and run is one of the most objectionable motoring offences. Closing this loophole will assist the police particularly in complex hit and run cases where a lengthy interview may be needed, ideally at the police station, to establish the identity of the offender," said Hughes.

The new guidance also tackles trafficking in "obscene material - particularly child pornography" making it a serious arrestable offence and giving customs officers greater powers of investigation.