Badly behaved children as young as five should be recorded on the national DNA database, a police chief said yesterday. Gary Pugh, forensic science director for the Metropolitan Police, said children should be 'targeted' because future offenders can often be picked out at a young age. The proposals come as the Government look to crack down on potential young tearaways, introducing 'baby Asbos' for children as young as ten to stop them going off the rails.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls is to spend £218 million on a scheme targeting children who are considered likely to enter a life of crime. Up to a thousand of the 'most challenging' children in the UK will be forced to stick to a good behaviour contract or face the threat of a criminal record. Problems such as drug taking will be tackled by the Family Intervention Projects to stop youngsters going on to receive full-blown anti-social behaviour orders. Each child will be assigned 'assertive and persistent' case workers to ensure they stay away from criminal activity. Any that refuse to cooper- ate would be handed Asbos and Individual Support Orders (ISOs), which are enforceable in a court of law. Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls said: "Communities want lasting improvements and that means not only stopping bad behaviour when it occurs but also changing it and intervening early to stop bad behaviour spiralling into future offending.
Changes to the way the database is run must have public support if they are to be effective, a spokesman said.