What our youngest ‘crims’ did

A child not old enough to start school is the youngest person collared by police in the past year, after they were caught fighting another child on the street.

Although some of the alleged offending by children seems like youthful indiscretion, an experienced child psychologist says youngsters who may become serious offenders can be identified as young as 7 years old.

Police, under the Official Information Act, have provided Stuff with information about the 10 youngest people they caught in each policing region from March

2017 until February 2018. Specific ages were not provided, but police confirmed two children – one younger than 5, the other aged between 5 and 9 – were caught fighting on the street they lived on.

Meanwhile, a child aged between 5 and 9 was caught stealing from an honesty box.

Specific details were not given for other offending, but the majority was for minor offences such as theft, unlawfully entering a property, or wilful damage.

One child between 5 and 9 was caught for misuse of regulated weapons.

Massey University psychologist Dr Ruth Gammon, who has experience working with children in the justice sector, said child offenders were a family issue.

Research showed children who offended early on usually had mental health problems, or dysfunctional families.

The children most likely to become long-term offenders could usually be identified by the age of

7, Gammon said. Symptoms could include acting out at school, being aggressive, ‘‘getting into mischief’’ or having problems at home.

Only a small percentage of young offenders came from functional families, she said.

‘‘Kids aren’t born bad.’’