BOYS as young as ten years old are committing serious crimes in Redditch, The Standard can exclusively reveal.
There were 430 separate arrests of children aged between ten and 15 years old in Redditch over the past two years, a Freedom of Information request to West Mercia Police has revealed.

And the youngest of these have been arrested and charged for crimes such as arson, burglary and criminal damage.
Police charged 262 of those arrested for crimes which included grievous bodily harm, rape, common assault, robbery and even one case of passing counterfeit currency.
The figures relate to arrests between December 1, 2007 and November 30, 2009.

Shockingly, the figures show that over 40 of the arrests were for children aged 12 and under, including an 11-year-old boy charged with sexual assault and one charged with burglary. Girls were responsible for only three of the arrests in this age group, and all three were aged 12 years old - the youngest of the females arrested.

Boys were arrested on 287 occasions, almost exactly double that of girls who were arrested 143 times.
However, theft was the most prevalent crime with 90 arrests, and girls accounted for over two thirds of those arrested for theft. Of the 90 arrests, 72 children were charged with the crime.

In total there were 43 different crimes children were arrested for and the five most common offences were theft, assault ABH, criminal damage, common assault and burglary.
The main offences boys committed were ABH and criminal damage and they were also responsible for 30 of the 33 arrests for burglary, burglary/theft and burglary/criminal damage.

Some of the children who were charged and tried with a crime may have found themselves receiving a court order referring them to the Youth Offender Panel if they pleaded guilty on a first time conviction.
Anne Mann, area team manager and service lead for referral orders, explained that one of the best ways to get children back on track was to show them the consequences of their actions.
She said: "A powerful tool in helping young people avoid further offending is to confront them with the consequences of their behaviour and offering opportunity to repair the harm caused.

"Youth Offending Teams and Volunteer Panel members actively seek to engage with victims in this process and where both parties are in agreement a face to face restorative meeting may be arranged or alternatively a letter of explanation or apology may be written."
Youth Offender Panels, made up of volunteers who work closely with the team, talk to the youngsters, the parents and where possible the victim of the crime to agree a tailor-made contract aimed at putting things right.

The contract might include removing graffiti or cleaning up estates and communities. It also includes activities to prevent further offending.
Anyone wanting more information on volunteering should log on to www.yjb.gov.uk/YouthOffenderPanels or call 01527 556200.
• The Standard contacted Redditch police regarding the figures but they said they wished to look at them in depth before commenting. Read next week's Standard for their response.

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