Blunkett says young tearaways should be taught boxing
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Your support makes all the difference.David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said yesterday that young tearaways should be given boxing lessons to turn them away from crime.
In a speech to criminal justice professionals, Mr Blunkett suggested that putting young boys in the ring could teach "self-restraint, self-esteem, control and ability to use aggression in a different way".
Speaking of his admiration for the Sheffield boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, the Home Secretary turned on the sport's critics. He said: "Do we say it's not a good idea because really boxing the hell out of each other is not a terribly good idea, or do we say there's a positive avenue for getting that youngster to believe in themselves and re-engage with school, family and the wider community?" He said the work of Mr Ingle, who trained Naseem Hamed, the world featherweight champion, has "made me believe the latter".
Mr Blunkett, who has visited Mr Ingle's gym at St Thomas's boys and girls club several times, said: "I don't give a damn what it is so long as it is legal and it works."
The idea was immediately dismissed by doctors' leaders. A spokeswoman for the British Medical Association said it opposed boxing because it caused head injuries. "All of the other arguments about purposeful activity for young people and teaching them to control aggression are valid but the problem is that boxing causes brain injury."
Mr Blunkett, drawing on his experiences growing up on a council estate in Sheffield, hinted that he too could have been drawn into criminality as a young man. He said: "There's not one of us who cannot remember ... something at some point – which we are not going into – but had you been picked up for it at that moment in time it might have led to all sorts of problems, not least being put with a lot of other people who are better at it than you."
Mr Blunkett questioned how many rich children might have ended up in trouble with the law "if they didn't go to a decent public school".
The Home Secretary told the Youth Justice Board's annual convention that 75 per cent of street crime offenders were under 17 and that early intervention was needed if young people were not to progress from antisocial behaviour to a fully fledged criminal career.
Mr Blunkett said he intended to take some offending youngsters away from their families and place them with a new type of foster carer, specially trained in working with young criminals. He said the "intensive fostering schemes" would give the young offenders a "stable environment" but would also allow them to retain contact with "family, friends and school".
The Home Secretary was clearly angry at reaction to his latest criminal justice reforms, especially criticism that he is interfering with people's liberty by introducing fixed-penalty fines for antisocial behaviour.
Describing the activities of "families from hell'', he said commentators who criticised him for "more government meddling" should "try living next door to some of these people".
He said: "You cannot be judgemental if you are next door to a family from hell. You want somebody to do anything to enable you to sleep at night."