VOUCHER REWARDS FOR TEENS

In the news this week, Chancellor Gordon Brown has unveiled a voucher scheme to encourage youngsters to stay out of trouble. Well behaved kids who stay within the law will be rewarded with vouchers, whilst out of hand youngsters would be given “mentors” to keep them on the straight and narrow. What a load of rubbish! It will take more than a “mentor” to keep many of the teenage yobs in this country out of trouble.

Maybe they should start issuing vouchers to the government ministers who come up with all these bright ideas! Or maybe they should bring back good old fashioned discipline both at home and in schools and save taxpayers' hard-earned money! In an interview on GMTV this morning, Gordon Brown mentioned that the government is “toughening up” on anti-social behaviour. Apparently a lot of youth crime occurs because youngsters have nowhere to go and nothing to do, so the idea is that the vouchers which can be exchanged for sports and leisure facilities will channel youngsters’ interests. I’m not convinced. Perhaps American-style boot camps for young offenders would be a better idea or maybe bringing back National Service would do the trick.