Parents Will Back Child Curfews, Says Straw

Many parents of young criminals were "desperate for a framework of rules which they can then enforce against their kids," he said.

"Some of them couldn't care less where their kids are. But what we know is if you seek to impose sanctions on people, as well as trying to deal with the underlying causes of their problems, then behaviour will change," he told Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Straw was commenting on his measures aimed at keeping young criminals off the streets at night - part of the Government's Crime and Disorder Bill announced in the Queen's Speech yesterday.

He said youth offences were increasing and there was a profoundly ineffective system for dealing with them. Under the Government proposals, the police and social workers would enforce curfew orders jointly to take the child back home.

"Our proposals for child protection orders are a form of early warning system and it's one of the ways of ensuring that communities get some peace and quiet late in the evenings," said Mr Straw.

"Who, as a responsible parent, believes that children of ten and under should be out on the streets racketing around by themselves without any adult supervision, at ten or 11 o'clock at night?" he asked.

"That is outrageous and we should not tolerate it," insisted the Home Secretary. "It's not surprising if we turn a blind eye to that kind of absence of community and parental supervision, the children then get the idea they are ruling the roost and graduate into much more serious behaviour."