Children Could Be Monitored for Signs of Criminal Behavior

All children could face compulsory checks to discover if they are at risk of turning into criminals, the Prime Minister announced today.

The controversial proposal came as part of a wide-ranging review of crime and security policy published by 10 Downing Street. It said the checks could take place at existing important stages in a child's life, such as the move from primary to secondary school.

The Government's plan to prevent crime said: "Establish universal checks throughout a child's development to help service providers to identify those most at risk of offending."

"These checks should piggyback on existing contact points such as the transition to secondary schools"

The document did not outline at what age the checks should begin, nor did it detail whether police or probation officers would be involved in the process. It was also unclear whether the check would involve a personal interview with a child, or if it would simply comprise a review of school and police records.

It was also unclear whether the check would involve a personal interview with a child, or if it would simply comprise a review of school and police records.

• Publishing efficiency data on the courts for the first time, with the prospect of poor-performing courts facing measures to force improvements
• Extending the police's ability to seize non-cash assets from criminals, such as plasma screen televisions, jewellery and laptop computers
• Encouraging businesses to make their products "crime proof", such as introducing fingerprint activation on MP3 players such as iPods, because the devices are partly behind a rise in street crime
• Placing restrictions on prolific criminals after they are released from prison, which would lead to up to three years in jail if breached
• Immigrants coming to Britain temporarily could be asked to take out "adequate health insurance" rather than using NHS resources
• Developing technology could also lead to the introduction of "crowd scanners" able to detect bombs, and the use of "automatic facial recognition" to spot criminals on CCTV images

The review also appeared to advocate further expansion of the DNA database when it suggested including "all suspected offenders who come into contact with the police." Currently anyone arrested for a recordable offence in England and Wales must give a DNA sample - which remains on record even if they are not charged, or are acquitted.

Taken from the Daily Mail 27^th March 2008