"Costly, bureaucratic, short-term, superficial" and "counterproductive". David Cameron did not mince his words when criticising the Government's existing methods of dealing with antisocial behaviour last week. Instead the Conservative Party leader favoured a "revolution of responsibility", stating the Government should hand some accountability for the behaviour of young people back to society and treat the cause rather than the symptoms of antisocial behaviour.
Behaviour incentives
Speaking at the Royal Society of Arts, he said Britain has miserable, badly behaved and badly educated children but insisted that a "framework of incentives" would prove more effective than regulations and laws in reducing bad behaviour.
These incentives include reforming the tax system, which he said currently penalises parents who stay together, and improving public transport so parents can spend more time with their children.However, Enver Solomon, deputy director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, questions exactly what Cameron means.
"It's unclear as to what the difference will be," he says. "He hasn't said the Tories will scrap antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos) or whether they will get rid of curfew orders for young people. So while he has chosen to use headline-grabbing rhetoric it's unclear exactly what they would do to ensure responsibility is handed back to the community.
"What does he mean by giving communities responsibility to tackle problems? And what is the evidence that the move will result in communities being safer?"
Solomon says he is concerned at Cameron's focus on rewarding families that stay together, stating that a secure family environment is much more important to young people than having two parents.
During his speech Cameron criticised Asbos, saying they were counterproductive because they take responsibility for the person's actions away from the individual, and highlighted youth scheme the Young Adult Trust, which his party backs, as an example of teaching young people the responsibilities of adulthood. But Matt Foot, co-ordinator of Asbo Concern, does not think Cameron's words will make any difference to those working with young people.
"It's not totally clear what he's saying but he's not offering any support to services and people working with young people," he says. "What's interesting is that it breaks with what the Tories have been saying, as until recently they were complaining that there weren't enough Asbos."
No-one from the Conservative Party was available to expand on the details of Cameron's plans.
Community responsibility
Not everyone is sceptical about the substance of the speech. Chris Stanley, head of policy and research at crime-reduction charity Nacro, welcomes Cameron's comments."People need to take responsibility for young people that live in their area," he says. "It used to happen but the media has created a fear of young people. There's nothing to be afraid of. If there's a group of young people standing in the street and I need to walk through I say excuse me. Nine times out of 10 they move and say sorry."
Youth worker Vinny King, of Crime Concern's crime-prevention programme in Nottingham, feels that any emphasis political parties put on the role of the community in helping young people can only be a good thing.
"A lot of the political parties have the same agenda in terms of respecting your community and that is what we're trying to teach young people, so from my point of view it's brilliant," he says. "I hope it's not just a vote-catching thing because it's what our organisation is about."
Stanley warns, however, that the idea of areas taking more responsibility for its youth will only work as long as Cameron carries through his promises.
"There's no magic wand to change things for the better," he says. "What we need is more support for families, social enterprise and things that involve young people in the community."
