UK: The end of hug a hoodie - Tories to go to war on yobs

The Times ^ | 4/12/2009 | Sam Coates

[bruinbirdman]

Chris Grayling called today for a "war" on anti-social behaviour, saying that it was time to "reclaim our streets" from gangs of youths.

The Shadow Home Secretary said that the “grotesque” attack on two boys aged nine and 11 by two young brothers in Doncaster last weekend was a wake-up call for “Broken Britain”.

In one of the toughest speeches since his appointment in January, Mr Grayling said minor crime committed by younger teenagers "so often lead to worse if it goes unchecked".

Mr Grayling also rounded on those youngsters who were "aided and abetted by parents who just don’t care".

The speech marked a final break for the Conservatives from Mr Cameron's initial youth crime strategy, which called for greater understanding of hoodie-wearing teenagers. In July 2006, the Tory leader told the Centre for Social Justice that young people needed "a lot more love".' Mr Cameron added: "So, when you see a child walking down the road, hoodie up, head down, moody, swaggering, dominating the pavement - think what has brought that child to that moment."

Speaking at the Policy Exchange think-tank this morning , Mr Grayling said that the Conservatives would not tolerate law-abiding people being made to feel like prisoners in their own homes. "In 21st-century Britain, that simply isn’t good enough," he said.

He said that the Conservatives would reduce bureaucracy in order to free up police time to allow them to better tackle anti-social behaviour. He would also give the police the "right powers" to deal with it.

Mr Grayling wants police to be given more discretion in dealing with young people and for “instant community punishments” for serious antisocial behaviour. Head teachers should also be given powers to exclude pupils and not have their decisions overruled.

Schools should have a much “tougher” approach to

[ccmay]

Public canings would be a good start.