Just in case you thought the Brits were a nation of eccentrics, how's this for dotty? Tagging misbehaving toddlers for life

The UK government thinks it can cut crime in the future by targeting badly behaved three-year-olds in the present -- by Helene Guldberg

A UK Home Office report entitled Crime Reduction Review, lays out some ideas for cutting crime in Britain - by targeting toddlers judged to be 'at risk' of becoming criminals.

The report proposes training nursery staff to spot children at risk of turning to crime, on the basis of high levels of aggressive behaviour or a family history of criminality. It also proposes providing parenting classes for these children's mums and dads. The Home Office Strategy Unit, which spent five months compiling the report, concludes that: 'From the simple perspective of reducing crime, the arguments for focusing resources on the children most at risk are "overwhelming".'

'There is perhaps too much concern about the potential negative impacts of targeting children and their families', the report continues. Children who are not 'under control' by the age of three are apparently four times as likely to be convicted of a violent offence once they reach maturity. 85% of prisoners in juvenile detention facilities were bullies at school, say researchers cited in the report, and 43% of male adult prisoners have children with criminal records.

If such tracking of young bullies were to be justified, then why not argue for anti-crime measures for every boy from nursery age onwards? Being born a boy is a clear 'risk factor' in leading a child into criminal behaviour, with boys at least 20 times more likely than girls of being convicted of a crime in adulthood: 94% of the prison population in Britain is, after all, male. And while they are at it, what about special interventions for specific ethnic groups - those who are at a higher risk of ending up in jail? Or indeed, for children from 'broken homes'?

Some have, quite rightly, warned that labelling toddlers as potential criminals can be counterproductive, or might even prove to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pam Hibbert, chief policy officer of the children's charity Barnado's, argues that 'attempting to pre-determine outcomes can actually lead to stigmatisation and labelling of children, resulting in more rather than less children entering the criminal justice system'.