Universal checks could be carried out throughout a child's developmentfocusing on key stages such as the move from primary to secondaryschool.
The public policy review Building on Progress: Security, crime andjustice suggests children are monitored for "trigger" factors includingparents being sent to prison or addicted to drugs.
Shadow home secretary David Davis branded the plans "the nanny stategone mad" and said there is no evidence that early intervention willstop children becoming criminals.
The Department for Education and Skills said it is unlikely thechildren's information sharing index will be used for this plan becauseit is prohibited from carrying case information about a child, or theopinions of any workers coming into contact with the child, under theChildren Act 2004.
Terri Dowty, a director of Action on Rights for Children, saidmonitoring children in this way would be hugely impractical and costlyand would involve adding more information to the Common AssessmentFramework database.
"Children are likely to be affected by being branded a future criminal,"she said. "This is discriminatory and will pick on children who are frompoorer areas. It smacks of the middle classes believing they can createmore 'people like us'."
Last week also saw plans to split the Home Office announced. The planspropose a new Ministry of Justice that will oversee youth justice andthe courts. The Home Office will remain in charge of anti-socialbehaviour and immigration policy.
Kathy Evans, policy director at The Children's Society, said the planswere a missed opportunity to put the DfES in charge of youthjustice.
- www.pm.gov.uk.
