Troublemaker kids to be hit with baby ASBOs

London, Mar 18 (UNI) With a view to nipping criminal tendencies in the bud, Britain is planning to tackle potential troublemakers as young as 10 by signing them up to good behaviour contracts.

According to a government plan unveiled today to fight youth crime, children who could become criminals are to be targeted with ''baby ASBOs'' to stop them going off the rails, the Telegraph reported.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls announced a 218 million pound expansion of Family Intervention Projects. The orders would be issued to about 1,000 of the country's worst-behaved children.

Failure to stick to the contract could lead to a criminal record or so called ''baby ASBO''.

Police could issue a baby Asbo following a complaint from a teacher that a child was skipping lessons or concerns from a neighbour about poor parental behaviour.

A case worker would be assigned to ensure get the child gets suitable help, such as drug treatment or anger management.

Youngsters who failed to co-operate with the voluntary order would be handed a full anti-social behaviour order to compel them to take part.

Critics have said such orders were not effective for tackling anti-social behaviour among young people, as teenagers view them as a badge of honour.

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