Number of child criminals 'has jumped by 13% under Labour'

 

 

By James Slack

Last updated at 9:52 AM on 03rd March 2010

 

 

 

 

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Almost 160 children are convicted of crime every day, official figures show.

The young offenders even include ten-year-olds who have attacked police officers. A total of 57,635 under-16s were found guilty in court in 2008.

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling, who unearthed the figures, said they showed Gordon Brown was wrong to dismiss the charge that Britain was 'broken'.

 

 

'Broken' Britain: Latest figures show 114 children of primary school age were convicted of violence and 176 of burglary in the last three years

 

In a speech this week, the Prime Minister had said: 'We don't tackle the fear of crime by cultivating it, by claiming our society is broken. Sometimes as damaging as the fear of crime is the crime of fear.'

Mr Grayling said the number of crimes being committed by children had risen 13 per cent since Labour took power in 1997.

 

 

 

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In the last three years for which figures are available, 114 children of primary school age were convicted of violence and 176 of burglary.

Nine children aged ten and 11 had assaulted a police officer.

 

A further 214 were convicted of criminal damage - including 59 instances of arson.

 

The Tories said the figure has crept up by a percentage point for every year Labour had been in Government. When Labour first came to power it was 13 per cent lower.

It comes after elderly couple were killed in a suspected arson attack after they challenged yobs terrorising their sheltered housing complex.

 

Albert and Kath Adams, both 77, dies after the gang set fire to a mobility scooter in their porch.

 

Mr Grayling said: 'How can Gordon Brown possibly claim that our society isn't broken when we have more and more children committing crimes in our society.'

 

'When you have ten and eleven year olds assaulting police officers - and committing other serious offences - it is a sign that things are going badly wrong.

 

'In the past few weeks we have seen a whole series of brutal crimes that just underline how big a challenge we face.

 

'It will take deep-rooted social change if we are to get to grips with this problem - and that's just not going to happen under this tired Government.'

The Tories say the figures 'add to the disturbing picture' painted by the most recent Youth Justice Board survey of young people:

 

The Youth Justice Board / MORI Youth Survey 2008 found 23 per cent of under 16s admit to committing a criminal offence in the past 12 months.

 

Some 35 per cent of 15-16 year olds admit to committing a criminal offence in the past 12 months.

 

Of those who have committed an offence, 39 per cent said that they committed their first offence when 11 or younger. And 31 per cent of young people have carried a knife or gun in the last year.

 

In total, 51 per cent of young people say they have been victims of a crime in the last 12 months.

 

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, said: 'The UK Statistics Authority has already censured Chris Grayling for his dodgy use of crime statistics.

 

'He refuses to acknowledge crime has fallen by 36 per cent since 1997 and youth reoffending is at its lowest level since records began in 2000.'

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255013/Number-child-criminals-jumped-13-Labour.html#ixzz0h8CB8gMl

Definitely the governments fault.

 

How can you have any respect for a paper that shows pictures like this? It's blatantly trying to create fear and pull in stupid readers.

I'm surprised it doesn't say "Typical teenager: Pictured above"

The actual figures of crime has gone down under Labour (though it had already been decreasing before they came to power). However, papers like the Daily Mail pedal this kind of crap and are a variable in the rise in 'fear of crime'. Bollocks.

I'm sure the government is to blame for this one! :rolleyes:

I'm sure the government is to blame for this one! :rolleyes:

 

Along with chav parents, of course................................ :rolleyes:

I was being sarcastic, in case you didn't detect it.

I was being sarcastic, in case you didn't detect it.

 

So was I, although there's more than a hint of truth in it...................... :rolleyes:

So you weren't being sarcastic then.

Argh, another negative report on British society. Many of the media reports I have read give me a solid impression that Britain is an 'unhappy' and 'unsafer' nation. Is this the case? And if so, why has it become this? Could someone do the honors of bringing me up to date on the situation. I've been wanting to find an answer to the two questions I've posted.

It's not, I've never felt unsafe and I've never felt any consensus that Britain is shit.

Before Mark says "That's because its Broken Britain :rolleyes:" and gives you no further explanation, this is from a government website:

 

RECORDED CRIME STATISTICS ENGLAND & WALES

Recorded crime refers to notifiable offences recorded by the police according to the Home Office rules on counting and classification.

 

Details of the latest in a series of regular bulletins issued by Home Office Research Development and Statistics (RDS) Directorate are given below. Until 2002, two main bulletins were issued annually covering the 12 months to September and the 12 months to March. From 2002 onwards, the Recorded Crime Statistics have been published once per year as part of Crime in England & Wales.

 

Main points:

 

All police recorded crime down 5% to 4.7 million crimes

Violence against the person down 6%

with injury down 7%

Domestic burglary up 1%

Offences against vehicles down 10%

Theft from the person down 12%

Criminal damage down 10%

Robbery down 5%

Drugs offences up 6%

 

http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/sta_index.htm#Crime

---

 

All recorded crime down by 5% in 8 years is pretty amazing, especially as the crime rate nationwide has always been relatively low.

 

From my experience of living in England for 4 years I rarely felt unsafe or in danger, certainly never just while walking down a street in the daytime. The papers will focus and twist statistics to create headlines and sell papers, but most of the time it's close to bullshit. No doubt there are council estates and apartment blocks that look like a bomb has hit them though.

Thanks for the information/opinion Reilly and Horrific Attack (sorry, not sure what your names are). Finally I've got a greater understanding :)

No problem, but when you see a report by the Daily Mail you really have to read it closely. They claim crime has gone up 13% and elaborate by telling us how many children are being convicted of crimes, but fails to mention the amount of children being convicted in 1997. They always save the best for last in each article, hoping the average reader would have just given up reading because they are paralysed by fear or too dumb to hold their attention span. The last 3 lines:

 

In total, 51 per cent of young people say they have been victims of a crime in the last 12 months.

 

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, said: 'The UK Statistics Authority has already censured Chris Grayling for his dodgy use of crime statistics.

 

'He refuses to acknowledge crime has fallen by 36 per cent since 1997 and youth reoffending is at its lowest level since records began in 2000.'

 

51% of young people, the majority, have claimed to have been victims of crime?! Where the hell do they get that from? I don't feel like I'm putting my neck on the line at all, to say that is clearly impossible.

 

So what you'll notice here is the DM writing a big shocking headline with a strong shocking image and then completely debase their source for the entire article at the death of it.

Jesus, Britain is SO broken, let's all fetch some packaging tape to fix er up.

What term does the States use to create a general sense of fear and sell papers? Assfucked America?

We don't have one, we just have commercials for politicians with red-filtered faces of betrayed-looking children while the voiceover talks in a hurt voice about how evil the other politician is and how he betrayed the public's trust etc etc etc

What term does the States use to create a general sense of fear and sell papers? Assfucked America?

 

Lol!!

Im pretty sure its the same situation here in the States. Both britain and the states have "twisted teens" :(

Ahh twisted teens, that's also awesomely lame, I don't think we have it. I like when such terms make it to local papers that have about 500 readers "Twisted Teens Vandalise Tree"

Here we have "Racist Australia" because our multi-culturalism is forced upon us as our governments accept anyone with ID from overseas with open arms... and inevitably, personal views and cultures clash.

Here we have "Racist Australia" because our multi-culturalism is forced upon us as our governments accept anyone with ID from overseas with open arms... and inevitably, personal views and cultures clash.

 

:stunned:

I'm sure you'd be interested in that one Mark.

:stunned:

 

This is Mark's just-cummed-his-pants face, he's moving to Australia immediately.

I thought so!