Child crime: 602 offences in the past three years

Child crime: 602 offences in the past three years

A freedom of information request has revealed that 602 crimes have been committed by children between the ages of seven and 17 since the start of 2017. Some of the figures are for children who have committed more than one offence.

Of those crimes, 254 have been committed by girls and boys between the ages of seven and 14. In that age category, children have committed offences such as common assault, theft and anti-social behaviour.

The age of criminal responsibility in Jersey is ten, and if any child under that age has committed a crime their parents or guardian will be spoken to by the police, so they can reflect on their actions to avoid any future occurrence.

The number of crimes committed by children dropped between 2017 and 2018 from 242 to 172. However, so far in 2019, 188 crimes have been committed. Crimes committed by youths between the ages of 15 and 17 include drug possession, theft and assault.

No crimes have been committed by children below the age of seven.

Children’s commissioner Deborah McMillan praised the way that the parish hall system deals with youth justice in the Island.

However, she believes a ‘root and branch’ review of how it operates needs to take place and she is planning to make recommendations to the government.

She said: ‘These statistics show that, while the Island does not have a high proportion of young offenders compared to many jurisdictions in the world, there are still children who are coming into contact with the criminal justice system in Jersey every year. This raises a number of important issues for the government, in terms of their commitment to putting children first.

‘We have a natural advantage in Jersey, due to the relatively small scale of our community, and there is strong potential for us to a take a more welfare-focused approach to youth justice.

‘The parish hall inquiry system is a good example of that, as it tackles youth offending in a more familiar setting.’

The Independent Jersey Care Inquiry also recommended a review of the parish hall inquiry system, particularly when dealing with young people when they returned to the Island last month as part of a further review on the government response to their initial 2017 recommendations.

A spokesman for States police said there were different ways to tackle child offending and each plan is bespoke for the child. He said: ‘At the lowest level it may involve an intervention by an SoJP community officer working with a school and the child’s parents/guardians to find a solution.

‘In more complex or serious situations we will refer the matter to the multi-agency safeguarding hub, who will then signpost to the most appropriate agency to lead the response, be that social services, early help, child and adolescence mental health services (CAMHS) or others.

‘In many cases the behaviour of a child maybe symptomatic of wider issues within the home so it is about understanding the situation in its entirety and working with our partners to find a solution that is appropriate and proportionate.’

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