Is this Britain's youngest shoplifter? Boy, THREE, caught stealing gifts from Boots with two other children under 10

     
     A three-year-old was caught shoplifting Christmas presents with two children aged 10, police have revealed.
     They were with two other children, both under 10, who were caught stealing from Boots in Wallington, south west London.
   They were all too young to be prosecuted.

The three-year-old was caught shoplifting with two other 10-year-olds and two adults

         Statistics, revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request, show in the last three years there have been more than 60 crimes in the London borough of Sutton where a child under 10-years-old is believed to have been responsible.
One incident involved three children, including a three-year-old, who were caught stealing Christmas gifts in Boots in Wallington in 2012. The children entered the shop with a man and woman and were spotted loading items into a bag before leaving the shop and getting into a car. No one was prosecuted.
Children under 10-years-old are below the age of criminal responsibility meaning they cannot be charged with crimes.
     Campaigners have said they now want children to be educated about the consequences of crime in primary school.

     In another incident, in a park near Wrythe Lane, Carshalton, last year, a gang including a 10-year-old boy attacked a man and stole his phone. Three of the group, one aged 14 and two 17-year-olds were charged with actual bodily harm (ABH) but the 10-year-old could not be prosecuted.
    Other incidents include a child aged five vandalising a car, a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old being involved in a burglary , a nine-year-old being accused of racially aggravated harassment and an eight year old being accused of ABH.

CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ENGLAND AND WALES

  In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old.

          This is the age when the legal system believes a child is responsible for the consequences of a crime.

         At 10-years-old the age is the lowest in the EU, and well below the international average.

    This has caused controversy as some argue that a 10-year-old cannot be responsible for his or her own actions.

Some also say that it does not make sense related to other legislation. For example, the age of sexual consent is 16, and children cannot even buy a pet until they are 12.

       Other countries opt for a more lenient age of responsibility. Under Scotland’s legal system children below the age of 12 cannot be prosecuted.

In Nordic countries crimes committed by under 15s are considered t be a symptom of the child’s development.

The murder of two-year-old James Bulger caused outrage as his murderers were just ten years old. 

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had missed school and actively planned to abduct a child and kill him.

Because of the nature of their crime, the decision was made that they should be tried in the adult court, in the full glare of the media and public.

The incident shocked the public, and is often used as an example of why the English age of responsibility is low.

Police are unable to charge under-10s with crimes but can impose a curfew or put the child under the supervision of a youth offending team.
       Children who break the law regularly can be placed into care through the council.
Sutton parents Ray and Vi Donovan founded the Chris Donovan Trust after their son, Chris, was killed by a gang of teens in 2001.
Now they travel the country working with young offenders.
Mr Donovan said: 'We want to get victim awareness put on the school curriculum.
'It’s about explaining to children that their actions have consequences - we call it the ripple effect where the consequences of their actions ripple out and affect the whole community. 
   'There is also a problem with parents. In some cases parents are trying too hard to be their children’s mates and going out drinking with them and things like that.
 'They aren’t our friends, they’re our children - there’s more to being a parent than being their friend.'
  He also warned sometimes children were forced into offending by teenagers or adults because they could not be prosecuted.
   A police spokesman said: 'We were the first borough in London to run Police Academies - after school clubs where primary school pupils can work with police to understand how officers work in local communities.
'Officers also give regular talks in schools to pupils of different ages about personal safety.
  These talks and presentations range from stranger danger and dialling 999 through to drugs advice and about keeping safe on the internet.'
David Tucker, Associate head of policy at the NSPCC said: 'Children who are suspected of behaviour that would be criminal may be showing signs that raise concerns about their welfare and this may need to be investigated so that appropriate support can be put into place.'



source DAILY NEWS
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