Doh!!!!

Whilst it was reassuring to hear no great hoo-haa about cracking down on miscreants, etc, in Gordon Brown's sneak preview yesterday, there are two measures which have the potential to backfire.

Withdrawing the ability of magistrates to suspend prison sentences for summary offences will more probably increase the prison population than reduce it; see my earlier posting on this measure for the reasons why (Suspended Sentences; 9th May 2007).

Additionally, raising the school/training leaving age to 18 is likely to lead to more youth offending. It follows from this move that it will become illegal for an employer to take on anyone under the age of 18 except on a part-time basis for a small number of hours each week. However, disaffected youth - especially male - will be drawn to truancy rather than attend school or a training place. We already know from painful experience that truancy is a fast track route into offending, the devil as they say finding work for idle hands. I suggest that the proposed measure will dramatically increase the pool of adolescent males drifting around the streets looking for something to relieve their boredom, and most likely they will find that something in antisocial behaviour, use of illegal drugs, shop theft, mugging and the like.

I hope I'm proved wrong on both matters if they go ahead, but I have my doubts.