Teenage yobs could be forced to wear uniforms while carrying out community service punishments.
Ministers said public confidence could be boosted if people see justice being done.
The move would draw comparisons with US chain-gangs whose members wear orange jackets to publicly shame them.
Home Office minister Hazel Blears said: "People feel very strongly that they don't often see justice being done."
A Home Office spokesman said: "This is something we would consider, but it is not a firm policy proposal.
"We want members of the community to have confidence that anti-social behaviour is being tackled."
Ms Blears also said she wanted parents to enforce sensible bedtimes for children and restore "structure" to family life.
Plans for visible community service faced immediate criticism.
Chris Stanley, head of policy for the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, said it could cause vigilante action.
"There's no evidence from anywhere that this type of thing has any deterrent effect," he said.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Tony Blair last week said he wanted to make restoring "respect" for others a central plank of his third administration.
He said people were "rightly fed up" with yobbish behaviour and he backed the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent which has banned youths wearing hooded track suit tops from its premises.
