You’re grounded...Tories plan curfew on louts

Thousands of Rochdale youngsters could face a curfew by courts in an attempt to stop unruly behaviour spiralling out of control.

Shadow Home secretary Chris Grayling said the measure would tackle crime at a younger age and send out the message to the young thugs their behaviour would not be tolerated.

Under plans announced by the Conservatives, anyone over the age of 12 who is found repeatedly causing trouble would be grounded by the courts.

A police officer would take the details of the child to the magistrates who would impose the order for between one week and one month. The yob would then be forced to stay at home between 6pm and 7am weekdays and most of Saturday and Sunday.

He said: “I expect there to be more curfews than ASBOs because what we are being told by police is that they are complicated and take months to get in place.

“What we are looking to do is give police an immediate way of responding.

“Because you are only basically saying you cannot go out for a fortnight, you are not taking a step which will cause long term damage to a child but doing something they will not like and sending the message what society will and will not tolerate."

Anyone breaking the curfew would be taken to court and could face prosecution, he added.

Mr Grayling said the move would not involve tagging children but would be possible because Tories would cut police red tape resulting in more officers on the streets.

He said: “We are in a society where a lot of people who get into serious offending were troublemakers when they were younger.

“Something needs to be done to stop them at an earlier age. Without criminalising large numbers of young people, I want to build into the system something that reins them back.”

Mr Grayling said the measure would happen quickly if Tories win power at the next election.

Other measures proposed yesterday would see a review of the 24-hour licensing laws, fewer cautions being handed out to criminals instead of tougher punishments and cutting red tape for police.

Policing Minister Vernon Coaker said: “Under the Tories, crime doubled. With Labour, crime has fallen by a third. It seems Chris Grayling still hasn’t learned any lessons.”