Catching criminals in the cradle is surely taking things too far

May 24 2009 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

WHAT gift do you give a new-born baby? There could be a cuddly toy, as big as the infant, from the proud parents.

Something sensible, clothes maybe, from the doting grandparents.

Champagne from family and friends.

And from Northumbria Police . . . a post-dated ASBO.

An exaggeration, perhaps, but it is certainly true to say the police want powers to target children before they turn into tomorrow’s trouble-makers.

What’s going on ‘ere, then?

Can cops really target children just in case they might cause problems in the future?

No crime has been committed, yet the long arm of the law is stretching out to the nursery.

Northumbria Police chief constable Mike Craik has said he wants extra powers to target the next generation of binge drinkers.

He told a House of Commons select committee that his boys in blue should work with social services, hospitals and schools to identify children who are likely to grow up into louts.

He made a point of mentioning five-year-old children who might have parents or siblings already in trouble. Therefore, the thinking goes, here are the thugs of a new generation.

It’s one thing to take reasonable steps to prevent crime before it happens. It is another to point the finger of suspicion at children below the age of criminal responsibility.

There is no doubt there is a problem with excessive consumption of alcohol, and no doubt it has to be dealt with.

But it has to be asked if a heavy-handed approach is the right way forward.

If the police effectively tell a child he is going to be a criminal, and that’s how their plan can be interpreted, isn’t that more likely to make it happen?

It’s time to take a long hard look at the ever-growing powers the police want and ask if it is really necessary.