Teenagers on bail awaiting trial for serious crimes will soon be electronically tagged in an effort to stop them re-offending.

But Frances Crook of the Howard League for Penal Reform says these measures do nothing to address the causes of crime and will have no long-term impact on offending.

Andy Homer, who works for the company which makes the tags and who has supervised pilot tagging schemes in Norwich, disagrees.

He says tagging instils discipline and responsibility and can help break the pattern of offending behaviour.

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Frances Crook, Howard League for Penal Reform

The Howard League is extremely concerned about Home Office plans to electronically tag children (as young as 12) on bail.

Children on bail are first and foremost children, and should be treated as such.

Media coverage branding them young criminals takes no account of the principle in English law that an individual is innocent until proven guilty.

Children on bail have been convicted of no crime and electronically tagging them will either leave them vulnerable to bullying or provide them with an unhelpful status symbol to boast about to 'the gang'.

These measures do nothing to address the causes of crime and will have no long-term impact on offending.

Frances Crook

It is particularly concerning that the home secretary is also proposing an increase in the number of places in child jails.

The effect of this will be to bring more and more of our young people under the surveillance of law enforcement agencies.

Today's [Tuesday's] announcement is just the latest in a series of initiatives introduced by the government to appear tough on crime.

These measures do nothing to address the causes of crime and will have no long-term impact on offending.

They have tried it before, for example by introducing child curfews, which have proved an abject failure and have united the police, local authorities and the voluntary sector, all of whom have refused to use them.

The Howard League believes David Blunkett should stop playing politics with the lives of vulnerable children and should instead allow the Youth Justice Board to get on with developing innovative and effective way of dealing with children and addressing their complex needs.

Andy Homer, Premier Geografix Ltd

'Innocent until proven guilty' is the cornerstone of the British judicial system and is underpinned by the statutory right to bail of all unconvicted defendants.

Alongside this right is the need to progress swiftly any criminal proceedings and to protect the public from any potential danger from the accused awaiting trial.

Bail pilot schemes showed clear advantages to offenders in helping to break the pattern of offending

Andy Homer

Curfew as a condition of bail has historically been managed by the police using doorstep visits to check on attendance.

This is necessary to register compliance with the conditions, but at best will only prove that a defendant is where he or she is supposed to be at the time of the visit, and can be an unnecessary drain on manpower.

It also allows defendants to breach bail conditions when not observed by the police.

Now a further alternative to remand in custody will be available, which will enable defendants to be continually monitored during their entire curfew period using electronic tagging.

This will ensure that all breaches are recorded and immediate action taken, including informing the police.

Successful pilot schemes were carried out with electronic tags in 1998 and 1999 and showed clear advantages to offenders in helping to break the pattern of offending, keeping them in continuous education and in many cases keeping families together.

This was not true of all cases, as the chaotic lifestyle led by some offenders made electronic tagging unworkable.

However results from the trial were encouraging, showing that fewer defendants absconded whilst on electronic tagging.