OUR CHILD CRIMINALS
Rape, arson, sex assaults... just some of the crimes committed by children aged just TEN and under in Wales:
RAPES, sexual assaults and arson are among thousands of crimes committed by primary school-aged children in Wales over the past five years. Children as young as three have been found to have been responsible for crimes, we can reveal.
The figures, gathered from freedom of information requests to Welsh police forces, show at least 3,086 incidents have been recorded since 2012 where a child aged 10 or under was found to be responsible for a crime. In Wales and England the age of criminal responsibility is 10.
This means children under 10 can’t be arrested or charged in connection with a crime.
Other crimes recorded where a child aged 10 or under was responsible included arson, burglary and racially or religiously aggravated assault.
All Welsh forces replied to the request for the number of children responsible for crimes with DyfedPowys Police supplying a breakdown of what sort of crimes were committed. The data they supplied, for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16, provides an insight into the sort of crimes being committed.
In that time dozens of violent assaults were recorded including four instances of racially or religiously aggravated assault and one of assaulting a constable without causing injury. There were also a substantial number of sexual offences.
There were 18 recorded incidents of sexual assault on a female child under 13, two counts of sexual assault on a male child under 13, as well as three counts of rape of a child under 13 (two on girls, one on a boy). Other crimes included burglaries, affray, arson not endangering life, criminal damage, harassment, obscene publications, and exposure and voyeurism.
In total, 37% of the crimes in the Dyfed-Powys Police force area were categorised as violence against a person, 25% were criminal damage and 21% were sexual offences, while 5% were public order and 11% were theft.
Dyfed-Powys Police also provided the ages of child offenders, revealing a three-year-old was found responsible for a crime in the 2015-16 financial year. Across the two years where they supplied the data, a total of eight crimes were recorded by children aged four while there were 10 records of crimes by five-year-olds.
A total of 25 kids aged six were responsible for committing crimes over the period as well as 33 children aged seven and 37 youngsters aged eight. Of the 227 children who committed crimes over the two years some 56 were nine and 57 were 10.
The biggest increases in crimes where children were found responsible were seen in the South Wales Police force area, with the total rising almost 300% from 2012 to 2017. In 2012 there 109 such crimes recorded while so far this year it has risen to 434.
The South Wales Police local authority area with the most crimes committed by primary school children was Rhondda Cynon Taf with 109 this year, up from 69 last year. This was followed by Cardiff with 99. Swansea saw the biggest percentage increase with incidents almost doubling since last year from 27 to 60.
When questioned, South Wales Police attributed some of the increase to a new method of recording crime.
Assistant Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan said: “Since 2014 we have fundamentally changed the way in which we record crime which has taken a huge amount of effort and a change in culture which has been recognised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate.
“We are now recording crime that has never been captured before, developing a more accurate picture of crime levels in south Wales, placing the clearest possible focus on victims. This change in process is known as criming at source. This more accurate method of recording will account for the rise in reported crimes committed by children under the age of 10.
“While children under 10 are considered below the age of criminal responsibility, and are therefore unable to be prosecuted for criminal behaviour, there are a range of intervention procedures in place for those who do become involved in criminality and we will continue to engage with youngsters and work with our partners to ensure their offending at a young age does not lead them to a life of crime.”
North Wales Police supplied data from 2012 to 2017 totalling 984 reported cases, risimg from 99 cases in 2012 to 285 in 2017. In Gwent Police’s force area there were 230 reported cases between 2013 and 2017.
Although they can not be prosecuted, children under 10 can be given a curfew or child safety order.
Police can ban children from being in a public place between 9pm and 6am, unless accompanied by an adult, and this can last for up to 90 days. If a child breaks their curfew they can be given a child safety order.
This is when they are placed under the supervision of a youth offending team. The order normally lasts for up to three months but can last for up to 12 months. If a child doesn’t stick to the rules the court can consider if they should be taken into care.
An NSPCC Cymru spokesman said: “Younger children are unlikely to understand the consequences of their actions or be able to effectively participate in criminal proceedings.
“The criminal justice system must support children who have committed offences to change their behaviour while holding young people increasingly accountable for their actions as they mature.”