ALL-NIGHT curfews for the under-16s have been welcomed by Swindon police as a way to make parents more interested in their childrens' whereabouts.

But they also urge caution in using the orders, saying they shouldn't restrict youngsters' everyday freedoms.

Superintendent Patrick Stayt, in charge of police operations in Swindon, said there would need to be a "balancing act between restricting people's rights and freedoms and curtailing behaviour".

Plans to extend existing curfews for under-10s to older children are expected to be contained in the Queen's Speech today.

They come in the wake of the murder of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor on a London estate last week.

Any curfew is thought to be aimed at keeping under-16s off the streets between 9am and 6am unless they have legitimate reasons to be out such as a family event or the return trip from a sports club or music lessons.

Nationally, police have often complained that existing curfews are aimed at children younger than those causing the real problems.

But before a curfew on under-16s could be imposed, a consultation process with local crime and disorder partnerships involving police, residents, churches and schools would be gone through to decide the most appropriate times, location and duration.

So far no orders on under-10s,

introduced in Labour's Crime and Disorder Act of 1998, have been

imposed.

Supt. Stayt said he would be interested to see more details about the proposed curfews.

"There are many families who do take a very responsible attitude to where their children are during the evenings. There are, however, some who don't take that level of interest," he said.

"The great advantages of curfews are that they are about getting parents to understand where their children are and what they are up to.

"We don't want to restrict children's freedom to meet with friends and enjoy living in Swindon. However, we don't want that freedom to cause fear in people or lead to criminal offences or disorder."

He said he also supported the idea of promoting consultation between the police and agencies, which applying for curfews would necessitate.