Stop calling them "Yobs" says Chairman of YJB

The government's chief adviser on youth crime has called on politicians and the media to stop calling children 'yobs' and warned that Britain risks demonising a generation of young people.

Professor Rod Morgan is the chairman of the Youth Justice Board, he claims that the Government sends out contradictory messages about its attitude to children. On the one hand, children represented the country's aspirations for the future in sport and music, on the other, they were being condemned by the Prime Minister as thugs in hooded tops.

'We use the word "yob" without distinguishing between very young children - who haven't chosen their parents, their neighbourhoods or their circumstances and can't walk away from them - and young adults,' he said. 'I don't think the word "yob" should ever be used in relation to young children.'

He urged politicians to stop announcing 'quick fix' policies rather than getting to grips with the crisis of youth custody, which has seen a 90 per cent increase in recent years.

Morgan's comments come after seemingly endless Gubment announcements aimed at showing the public that it is 'cracking down' on bad behaviour.

The Youth Justice Board is an independent body ministerial advisory body on young people in the criminal justice system. Morgan, the former chief inspector of probation and an internationally respected expert on crime, is known to be angry that 75% of the £390 million budget is spent on providing custodial places rather than on community sentences or early intervention.