Gangs behind youth violence as 100,000 children ‘at risk’
Ethnic minorities overrepresented in justice system, claims new report
OVER 100,000 children living in poverty are at risk of exploitation from criminal gangs, a new report has shown.
The Youth Justice Report 2022/23 highlights organised crime as a key contributor to serious youth violence, with 43 per cent of children in Birmingham living below the poverty line.
The plan also claims that black, Asian, and mixed heritage children are overrepresented within the city’s youth justice system.
This group accounted for 78.9 per cent of all children receiving a custodial sentence in 2021/22.
Birmingham Children’s Trust has delivered the plan, which was agreed upon by Birmingham City Council this week after several months of work behind the scenes.
In July 2022, a draft of the report revealed serious violence among Birmingham’s young people soared by over 40 per cent in 2021/22.
It also adds that Birmingham is the seventh most deprived local authority in England, and the third most deprived English core city after Liverpool and Manchester. The plan names Hodge Hill the most deprived constituency in the city, and links youth offending with levels of harm, trauma and disadvantage.
Girls are largely under-represented in youth justice services. No female children aged between 10 and 17 were sentenced to custody in 2021/22.
Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families Cllr Karen McCarthy said: “Our city is a young city – we are the youngest city in Europe. This plan aims to keep our city safe for our children and young people and support those that have been affected by youth offending and criminality.
“The report illustrates the disproportionate representation of children from black, Asian and mixedheritage backgrounds in the system.
“Another key statistic highlighted that out of a group of 80 children in the youth justice system, only one had no recorded abuse or adverse childhood circumstances in their young lives.
“The offending behaviour is quite often symptomatic of those tragic experiences and therefore we need to tackle the roots causes through earlier targeted intervention and prevention.”
“The impact of organised crime and criminal exploitation of some of our most vulnerable children is one of the complex challenges we face, which also affects other parts of the country.
“We can’t do this as a council alone; we need to work with our schools, police, health, and voluntary and community services.”
Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities Cllr John Cotton said: “This plan is about keeping people and communities safe, ensuring that justice is done for victims, and also ensuring that young lives don’t fall prey to criminal exploitation and end up going off the rails.
“This plan recognises the clear link between child poverty and inequality in our city and the levels of exploitation and crime affecting our children. The fact we have 43 per cent of children growing up below the poverty line, 100,000 children, clearly is connected to these issues.”