Tags to monitor errant children

Electronic tags could be used to exclude juvenile offenders as young as 10 from sports events and shopping arcades, monitor them at school and place them under house arrest, the Government announced yesterday.

The proposed scheme to monitor young criminals via wrist and ankle tags was described as unworkable by penal reformers and probation officers. Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused the Government of using the announcement to distract attention from a highly critical Audit Commission report that describes the juvenile justice system as ineffective and expensive. One of the report's key recommendations was to divert a large proportion of juvenile offenders out of the courts.

As predicted earlier thismonth in The Independent, the Home Office yesterday announced an amendment to the Crime Bill to provide courts with a new punishment to tag offenders aged 10 to 15 as part of a curfew order. In outlining the proposals the Home Office minister David Maclean indicated that the new sentence could be used in a wide range of areas, not just confining teenagers to their homes.

He said: "We believe that curfew orders could be an effective way of keeping young offenders off the streets or away from places such as shopping centres and football matches, where they may be up to no good.

"Young offenders could be ordered to stay at home at night or at certain times during the weekend. They could also be required to be at school during school hours.

"Electronic tagging will detect immediately whether the offender is breaking the curfew."

Under the proposal the curfew period would last between two and 12 hours for up to three months. Courts can include in any curfew order a "bind- over" condition on the child's parents or guardian. If the order is breached the mother or father would be liable to a fine. Typical crimes which might result in tagging include vandalism and minor public order offences.

Mary Honeyball, general secretary of the Association of Chief Officers of Probation, said: "If a child is constantly pushing against authority, breaching a curfew enforced by a tag simply becomes another opportunity to cock a snook at the adult world, and the tag itself will be worn as a trophy."

Up to 50,000 young offenders could be eligible for the tags, although only a tiny proportion would expect to be fitted.

The Government also proposes to introduce tough new penalties on 10- to 17-year-olds committing indecent assault on adult males. Under an amendment to the Children and Young Persons Act 10- to 14-year-olds, who currently cannot be jailed for the offence, would receive a maximum 10-year sentence. Offenders aged 15 to 17, who at present have a maximum of two years' detention, will also face a 10-year maximum.