Scots urged to hit youth crime hard
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"What are 14 and 15-year-olds doing if being
allowed to run amok late at night, under the influence of
alcohol which is itself illegal? It's not just society as a
whole that has to face up to its responsibilities - parents in
particular have to ask what is their son or daughter doing at
night and do they have proper control of them?"
- CHARLIE GORDON, LABOUR MSP |
THE leader of the city council pioneering the use of
anti-social behaviour orders in England has urged his Scottish
counterparts to "take their heads out of the sand" and use the
controversial measures to combat crime.
Richard Leese offered his advice on the day before
Jack McConnell, the First Minister, was to leave for a fact-finding
visit to Manchester with a delegation of Scottish council leaders.
Mr McConnell hopes that the mission to the city - "the
anti- social behaviour order capital" of England - will persuade
reluctant local authority leaders in Scotland to make more use of ASBOs.
Asked what his message was to Scotland's council
leaders, Mr Leese, a former youth worker, said: "Take your head out of
the sand. Listen to what your communities are saying and act. If you use
the powers that are available to you, you will find that in a relatively
short time you will start making a real difference to the quality of
life in your community and particularly our most deprived communities."
The new anti-social behaviour laws came into force in
Scotland last October, allowing the ASBOs to be applied to 12 to
15-year-olds. Only one under-16-year old has so far been subject to an
order in Scotland. Between 2000 and last year, only 315 ASBOs were
handed down in Scotland. In Manchester there are currently nearly 500
ASBOs in force.
But yesterday Mr Leese's plea - which will be welcomed
by the First Minister who has made a crackdown on youth crime a key
policy - received a cool reception from Charlie Gordon, the former
leader of Glasgow City council who is now a Labour MSP.
Although he supported the mission to England, Mr
Gordon said that the jury was still out on the success of the Manchester
scheme. Speaking to BBC Scotland, Mr Gordon said parents were part of
the problem.
He added: "What are 14 and 15-year-olds doing if being
allowed to run amok late at night, under the influence of alcohol which
is itself illegal? It's not just society as a whole that has to face up
to its responsibilities - parents in particular have to ask what is
their son or daughter doing at night and do they have proper control of
them?"
Mr Gordon warned that Scotland should "think twice"
about following England and "naming and shaming" youngsters who have
orders made against them.
Meanwhile, a children's charity yesterday condemned as
"deeply disturbing" reports that the UK government could segregate
problem families on guarded estates, and warned against any move to
introduce 'baby ASBOs' for under 10s.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children spoke out, even though Downing Street distanced itself from
reports suggesting the measures were being considered as part of the
upcoming Respect Bill.
Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, yesterday
admitted that ministers were looking at the options for dealing with
disorder caused by the very young, but he refused to go into detail.
Phillip Noyes, the NSPCC's public policy director,
said that any plans to extend ASBOs to children under ten must be
approached with "extreme caution" since they are under the age of
criminal responsibility and should not be drawn into the criminal
justice system.
Peter MacMahon
10 October 2005
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=2065832005
