Big rise in crime by under-10s Hundreds of sex offences among shocking statistics
ARISING number of children under the age of ten are committing crimes including violent and sexual offences, figures released by West Midlands Police show.
The number of recorded offences in the region has risen from 140 in 2012-13 to 217 in the last year.
Children below the age of criminal responsibility were recorded as committing 295 sexual offences and 198 violent acts over the same period.
Changing police boundaries and recording methods mean the figures should be treated with caution, the force said. But the statistics echo a national increase in under-tens accused of crimes over the same fiveyear period.
In the West Midlands, the most recorded crimes by under-tens were in Wolverhampton, with 37 reports, followed by Coventry with 32 and Birmingham West with 31. Over the period, 157 counts of arson and criminal damage and 53 instances of theft were also recorded.
Five crimes were committed by children aged one or under, although the force says data for this age bracket is misleading.
Nine-year-olds were recorded as carrying out the bulk of the offences, amounting to 350 crimes. Children under ten are below the age of criminal responsibility and cannot be charged. However, they can still commit an offence that can be recorded, and be given a curfew or a safety order placing them under the supervision of a youth offending team.
A Private Members’ Bill has been submitted at Parliament to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12, and is due to be read in the House of Lords.
Jason Royce, director of Souster Youth schools work charity, said: “I agree with the West Midlands Police that caution should be exercised when considering these figures. We don’t want to criminalise children and I think it is right to be very careful about drawing conclusions without solid data.
“Having said that, it does raise an important issue about the type of material available to children at a young age. There seems to be a correlation between the increase in these types of offences and the sheer quantity of violent and sexualised content freely available online.
“Young people I have worked with, who have committed sexual and/or violent offences, have nearly always been exposed to explicit material from an early age.”