Curfew plan to control unruly children - About time as well
- From: "donkey_breadth@xxxxxxxxx" <donkey_breadth@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 25 Dec 2005 22:23:05 -0800
www.telegraph.co.uk
Curfew plan to control unruly children
By George Jones, Political Editor
(Filed: 26/12/2005)
Tearaway children will be subject to tough control orders and
night-time curfews even before they commit a criminal offence under a
new drive against anti-social behaviour.
Schools and other authorities in England and Wales will be given the
power to apply for parenting orders to control unruly children.
Tony Blair: Tough
Parents of problem children under 10, who cannot be taken to court, or
of older children who are at risk of offending, will face orders
compelling them to attend behavioural classes.
Under measures to be introduced next month, the authorities would be
able to intervene when they suspected a child was having problems, not
once an offence had been committed.
Tony Blair wants action to be taken before an offence has been
committed or a child excluded from school, as is currently the case.
If children are showing a "propensity" to get involved in anti-social
behaviour, he wants parenting orders to be imposed before they go "off
the rails".
Mr Blair is putting an intensified campaign against anti-social
behaviour at the top of his domestic agenda for the coming year.
He believes that traditional courts are "too cumbersome" to tackle
low-level disorder and he wants to see a major extension of the
parenting order system.
The orders, which are backed up by a threat of a fine or even a jail
sentence, require parents of troublesome children to attend parenting
lessons, make their children attend school and ensure they obey
curfews.
Parents will also be required to ensure that children attend literacy
or numeracy clubs, or programmes dealing with anger management or drug
or alcohol misuse.
Parenting orders can also stop children visiting areas such as shopping
centres, or require them to stay at home at night under supervision.
Parents can be forced by the order to accept support and advice on how
to bring discipline to their child's life. They can also be compelled
to attend school meetings to deal with misbehaviour.
Mr Blair wants a wider range of authorities to be able to apply for
parenting orders, including housing officers and anti-social behaviour
teams. Schools will be allowed to apply under separate action to
improve school discipline.
Such orders currently apply only to the parents of teenagers who have
been subject to anti-social behaviour orders or have broken the law.
The "respect agenda" is expected to define anti-social behaviour as
much more than just crime, stressing the need to tackle the root causes
of problem behaviour before laws get broken.
Mr Blair will argue that it is about changing the culture of the
country "to put the law-abiding majority back in charge of their
communities". He acknowledges that anti-social behaviour blights the
lives of many people.
He is also considering appointing a Cabinet minister in direct charge
of the "respect agenda".
Hazel Blears, the Home Office minister currently dealing with
anti-social behaviour, could be promoted to the Cabinet Office to fill
a position that has been vacant since the mini-reshuffle that followed
the second resignation of David Blunkett.
The Prime Minister has wanted for some time to remove responsibility
for the anti-social behaviour unit, headed by Louise Casey, from the
Home Office so that it can report directly to him.
He believes that the Home Office is too cautious and reluctant to
embrace radical ideas to tackle anti-social behaviour.
David Davis, the Conservative home affairs spokesman, said Mr Blair's
respect agenda was a series of "headline-grabbing crackdowns and
gimmicks".
.
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