Crime And Punishment

There are likely to be two main areas of legislation under Labour: one set of policies relating to youth crime and another relating to "anti-social behaviour".

The Government believes that youth offending is a key cause of future adult crime since the peak ages for all offending are between 15 and 19. At the same time, the earlier people start to commit crime the more likely they are to continue to offend.

Fast Track Punishment

Labour links the rise in crime to a general rise in disorder, arguing that they both affect the quality of life and lead to a spiral of decline in local communities.

It plans to deal with this by introducing new community safety orders placing restrictions on movement and behaviour of named individuals. It will also introduce a new offence of racial harassment.

But many of Labour's policies reflect its emphasis on tackling the causes of crime. They are necessarily long-term and will not aim or expect to have an immediate impact.

Poor Parenting

Parents will be more involved in the process when their children commit offences - with final warnings and interventions. Parental responsibility orders would require parents to attend counselling and guidance sessions.

Labour will evaluate the impact of parenting programmes and give them higher priority. It will ask the Qualifications and National Curriculum Authority to examine how parenting lessons might be incorporated into its new values curriculum.