'You can spot thugs at nursery'

Young criminals of the future can be spotted from the moment they reach nursery school, Home Secretary David Blunkett said today.

He told a major conference on adolescence that a handful of families on housing estates in disadvantaged areas were "creating havoc" and contributing to youth crime by failing to teach children the difference between right and wrong.

And outlining a "tough and tender" approach to government policy on the family, he made clear that intervention needed to start with children as young as three.

"We have to provide the support at the point where it can be most effective. We have got to be able to pick up on behavioural reactions at school very quickly, even from the moment a child enters nursery," he said.

Mr Blunkett, who is Minister for the Family, said he was anxious to avoid being seen as hectoring or telling people how to run their lives. He said: "The real challenge for the years ahead is not only to support families through the normal day-to-day traumas and difficulties of raising children, but how we can support and work with what can only be described as dysfunctional families."

He told the Parent Child 2002 international conference on adolescence that government had a key role in creating stable communities through employment and a sound economy, flagging up yesterday's Budget announcement of a new £2.5 billion child tax credit system.

But as well as supporting families financially, he also wants to extend the use of parenting orders so that when children are getting into trouble at school, parents can be made to take classes to help them cope.

His remarks come in a week when Met Commissioner Sir John Stevens has spoken of children as young as eight being arrested for street robbery and after Scotland Yard has revealed a 38 per cent annual jump in mugging offences.

Earlier this week, the Home Secretary told courts he wants to see more young bail bandits locked up on remand instead of being freed to go on crime sprees. He has also spelled out intentions to increase the use of care orders for prolific 10 and 11-year-old criminals.

Today's remarks made clear, however, that he sees early intervention as a key tactic in beating crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour.

Spelling out the misery on some estates, he said: "It takes just perhaps half a dozen families, many in touch with each other, actually developing a style of behaviour where their children learn to be the opinion formers in gangs on our streets, who are lacking any decent, acceptable role models and do not understand the difference between right and wrong.

"The way in which even moderate interventions make no difference leads us to believe that we have to have both tough and tender policies."

There were some wonderful projects around the country helping parents crying out for help. He said, however, that he wanted to see more education on parenting in schools and colleges and more programmes in the community where parents can turn for advice without feeling stigmatised or afraid to ask for help.