Children to be tested at school for criminal tendencies

News has come out over the past few days of a government proposal that school children will now be tested to see whether they are at risk of becoming criminals. This could include looking at behaviour in school as well as looking at home life.

"The children of prisoners, problem drug users and others at high risk of offending will also face being "actively managed" by social services and youth justice workers"

Despite the overall tone of this blog I am unsure of this new proposal. Should children be watched like a hawk by the start of primary school? Is this the nanny state gone mad? Will this be part of the new 11+ exam at the end of primary school - verbal reasoning, non verbal reasoning, and mummy and daddy's wrongdoings.

And what exactly are these at risk groups? Criminal parents? Single Parent families? Mental health issues? Would those convicted of white collar crimes such as tax evasion, embezzlement and fraud be included here as well?

I believe strongly in the self fulfilling prophecy - if you watch these children like a hawk and treat them this differently of course they are going to turn out badly. Let them go to school to learn, not to be spied on.

And on a final note, it is not only the so called high risk families whose children many or may not turn into delinquents. Under these guidlines would we have known that Mr Prime Minister's son would end up in a drunkened state lying in a gutter during a night of underage drinking?

For more information on these propsals:
Here is a link from The Guardian
and an article from The Telegraph