Boot camp can help hackers

“I like making and breaking stuff and messing about online.”

We can all appreciate the how spirited and curious young minds can stray from the beaten track. The quote from a young hacker will be familiar to any parent.

But in the modern hightech environment, keeping tabs on the youth when we barely understand the cyber world they inhabit is no easy task.

So when they stray, we need to know that those tasked with getting them back on the right track know their stuff.

When it comes to antisocial behaviour in our community, we can articulate what is right and wrong. Online, the boundaries become blurred for those without the tools to understand it.

The softly softly approach of the so-called cyber boot camp is a reassuring development for those with young people in their family who have got themselves on the wrong side of the law.

And the age of some these youngsters will come as a surprise to many.

As we reveal today, hackers as young as 12 have been summoned to the pioneering cyber boot camps.

They operate like the speed awareness courses, putting the youngsters in the picture. But unlike the speed awareness course, the cyber boot camps host separate sessions to bring in the parents too.

The online world is, as our article today clearly demonstrates, a minefield for police and parents alike. And it’s not going to go away.

Pc Paul Maddison says “it’s critical to bring together the young people and their parents to try to get them on board.”

This course does exactly that. It’s the right way forward.