It appears that there are very opposing views regarding the Government’s proposal to introduce anti-social behaviour orders.  What unites the opponents is the recognition that what lies behind children’s and adolescents’ anti-social behaviours is serious vulnerability.  To his credit, Michael McDowell states that they will not repeat the difficulties experienced by the British model and that ‘in the case of children (I assume he means up to age 18 years) every effort will be made to divert the child from the criminal justice system and there will be parental involvement at all significant points.’  However, his opponents are sticking to their guns that the measures are crude, ineffective, criminalising children and marginalising them even further.  What the opponents of ASBO are not considering is that the lives of people in the community cannot be held to ransom by young (or older) people’s anti-social behaviours.

Every year thousands of children face bereavement, perhaps through the death of a friend, a sibling, a grandparent, a parent.  It is sometimes the case that adult family members who are experiencing their own grief miss noticing the feelings and behaviours of the children involved.  It can be often assumed that children are ‘resilient’ or ‘brave’ or are not old enough to fully understand what is going on; however, nothing is further from the truth.  I have known of situations where children were sent away to stay with an aunt and returned several days after the burial.  These children were not allowed to see the remains of the deceased person (parent, grandparent, sibling) and, on their return, dare not mention the deceased person’s name.