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150 youngsters found wielding knives and guns
May 5 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal
CHILDREN AS young as nine have been caught on the streets of North East carrying lethal weapons, The Journal can reveal.
An investigation using the Freedom of Information Act has highlighted the extent to which knives and guns are being carried in the region by children under 16. In the Northumbria force area in 2007, 103 children were found by officers to be carrying knives and 24 had guns or air weapons in their possession.
The youngest child caught with a knife was nine and the youngest with a firearm was 10.
In Durham, 51 under-16s were caught with weapons during the same period. The youngest with a knife was 11 while the youngest with a firearm was just 13.
North MPs last night said more needed to be done in educating children about the dangers of weapons and teaching them respect through the armed forces.
But campaigner John Johnson, whose son Kevin was knifed to death after confronting three rowdy teenagers outside his home, said streetwise youngsters believe they will be shown leniency by the courts.
Mr Johnson said: “About six months ago the Government said the maximum sentence for carrying a knife was going from two years to four years. I’m yet to see anyone going to jail for four years for carrying a knife and some of them have just been fined. These kids aren’t as daft as they seem. They know they can do whatever they want and relatively get away with it.”
Mr Johnson, 56, is campaigning for a life sentence to mean a life in jail and plans to travel to London soon to present his petition to Gordon Brown.
Tyne Bridge MP David Clelland, said there should be tougher penalties for those found in possession of weapons.
He said: “The worrying thing is not just that these knives are being carried but that young people seem to be more prepared to use them.
“I think a two-pronged approach is necessary. We need to concentrate on education and legislation.
“There seems to be a whole group of people who carry weapons without seeming to realise the damage they can do. But the penalties for carrying weapons should be increased to act as more of a deterrent to youngsters who may be thinking about carrying weapons.”
Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods said: “I think this is terrible but there are no easy solutions. Young people need to be taught the reality of the situation when they carry knives.
“Part of the solution has to be to get children involved in more activities such as the Army or Navy cadets, or anything else other than walking the streets carrying weapons. I will be campaigning for that. Youngsters need to learn to respect each other and older people.”
In November last year Newcastle’s most senior judge, David Hodson, described the carrying of bladed weapons as “the mark of the coward” when he sentenced the killers of Sunderland father Mr Johnson, who was 22.
Dean Curtis, 19, Tony Hawkes, 17, and Jordan Towers, 16, all from Sunderland stabbed Kevin to death after he asked them to be quiet outside his Pennywell home.
Alison Madgin, now bringing up grandson Callum after her daughter Samantha, 18, was stabbed to death by 15-year-old Jordan Jobson in Wallsend in August last year, said she was prepared to go into schools to help teach youngsters about the dangers of weapons.
She said: “They do need some sort of deterrent. Everything needs to be looked into. The law definitely needs to be changed because fines and warnings mean nothing to these kids.”
Both Durham and Northumbria Police moved last night to reassure people about the amount of weapons on the regions streets.
David Warcup, deputy chief constable of Northumbria Police, said: “We recognise the concerns of the public and we are committed to dealing with all the problems associated with youths carrying weapons and the impact it has on individuals and our communities.”
Justice is swift for the hard core of offenders
Department for Justice figures show 1,706 persistent young offenders, aged between 10 and 17, were recorded in the region last year compared to 1,249 in 1997.
“And police have classed dozens of them as “hardcore” individuals who are active in the region – although the time taken to take persistent young offenders to court has been slashed to as little as 48 days. Justice Secretary Jack Straw claimed the changes were down to improvements in the criminal justice system rather than worsening crime, with more young thugs going through the courts.
But Tory Shadow Wearside Minister Mark Hoban warned people would be concerned and stressed police must focus on tackling a minority who caused “misery” in their communities.
Some 16,512 persistent young offenders were recorded in England and Wales last year and 9,868 in 1997, according to the Whitehall statistics based on where they were first arrested or reported.
Durham Police said around 250 persistent young offenders were registered in its area at any one time, of which 60 hardcore individuals were active. The Department of Justice figures claimed the overall Durham total rose to 278 last year from 191 in 1997. But the time between arrest and sentencing fell from 120 to 58 days – with the force saying it has now dropped to 48 days.
Durham Police said it was dealing with teenage law-breakers almost two weeks faster than the average across all forces.
Chief Inspector Dave Hogg, head of the force’s administration of justice department, said: “People expect those who cause the most trouble should be dealt with as swiftly as possible.
“Thanks to the protocol we developed with the other criminal justice agencies, and the hard work of everyone involved, that is what we are now seeing.”
Government figures show there were 908 persistent young offenders dealt with initially in Northumbria last year, up from 588 in 1997. The time between arrest and sentence is currently 61 days.
The Northumbria local criminal justice board, which brings together police, prosecutors, courts and probation services, said the number of first-time young offenders continued to fall.
And it said the increase in the number of regular young law-breakers going through the criminal justice system showed agencies were doing a successful job by dealing with them.
High number of offences reflect improvements in system
A PERSISTENT young offender (PYO) is someone aged 10-17 sentenced by any UK criminal court at least three times and being arrested within three years of last appearing in the dock.
In a written Parliamentary answer, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said: “The increase in the number of PYO convictions is broadly consistent with the increase we have seen in recent years in the number of all offences brought to justice.
“In the year to September 2007 there were 1.44m offences brought to justice – an increase of 44% on 2001-2002.
“This reflects improvements in the performance of the CJS (criminal justice system), rather than an increase in the level of crime. Recorded crime has been falling since 2003-2004. The increase in those meeting the PYO definition is partly a consequence of improvements in the timeliness of dealing with such offenders.”
He added the statistics were used to monitor a pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with PYOs in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days.
Determined to target those carrying weapons
David Warcup, Deputy Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, said: “There isn’t a knife or gun crime culture in Northumbria and the figures reflect a significant number of offences involving less serious weapons such as air weapons and other bladed articles.
“However, this does not make us complacent. We recognise the concerns of the public and we are committed to dealing with all the problems associated with youths carrying weapons and the impact it has on individuals and our communities.
“The Chief Constable Mike Craik has been clear about Northumbria Police’s determination to target those offenders who offer the most harm to our communities and this will include those who use or carry weapons of any type.
“We know some youths carry or keep some kind of weapon, often this is out of bravado or because they feel they need for some kind of protection. The bottom line is there is simply no excuse for carrying a weapon and people who carry weapons simply increase the risk to everyone, including themselves.
“We work with schools, the various local authorities within the force area and the wider community to raise awareness of these dangers and will continue to do so.”
Chief Supt Trevor Watson, north area commander for Durham Constabulary, said: “As a general rule Durham tends not to have serious crime on the same scale as neighbouring forces with substantial urban areas. The relatively low figures for youngsters being caught with a knife or air weapon tend to reflect that.
“But we remain vigilant and we are involved in a range of preventative measures with partner agencies. These include regular visits to schools where students are made aware of issues including the use of knives and air weapons, and the possible consequences of being found in possession of one.”