Blunkett signals fresh measures to tackle families’ antisocial behaviour

Intensive parenting programmes for parents who refuse to tackle
their child’s bad behaviour are to be introduced in 10
antisocial behaviour trailblazer areas, David Blunkett announced
last week.

The programmes will combine education or training, behaviour
management, parenting orders, injunctions and antisocial behaviour
orders (Asbos), with residential courses for the most serious
cases.

Speaking at the Labour conference in Brighton, the home
secretary warned that families who persisted in antisocial
behaviour and who were close to eviction would be required to sign
up to a programme to change their behaviour. Keeping their home
would be conditional on completion of this scheme.

Blunkett also announced that children who breached Asbos would
be named and shamed by the media – a move that he said was
“vital to reassuring communities”.

Three intensive fostering schemes will be introduced from the
end of October in Hampshire, Staffordshire and London. These
initiatives will target children whose offending is a result of
their difficult home

environment and will ensure they can be “supervised for 24 hours
a day without being incarcerated for 24 hours a day”.

Blunkett also hinted that tagging programmes for adult offenders
would be expanded and that this programme would soon be developed
with juveniles.

Chief executive of the charity Rainer, Joyce Moseley said:
“Blunkett’s new desire for more community engagement appears
to conflict with his announcement to ‘name and shame’
young people breaching Asbos.”

She criticised the idea as simply stigmatising young people
without giving them the opportunity to change.

Blunkett said the government would fund an additional 1,300 new
prison places costing around £100m, in addition to the 2,400
new places that are due to be added over the next 18 months.

He also revealed that the use of intermittent custody –
where prisoners spend either weekends or weekdays in prison and the
rest of the week in the community – would be expanded to help
offenders to keep their jobs and prevent the break-up of their
families.

In a wide-ranging speech, Blunkett unveiled a new immigration
integration loan for people “who have a right to be here but need
assistance”, and pledged to protect victims of domestic
violence.