Crime committed by children under 10 is rising across Nottinghamshire

The amount of crimes committed by children who are too young to be arrested has been rising in Nottinghamshire.
Crimes committed by children under 10 is rising across NottinghamshireCrimes committed by children under 10 is rising across Nottinghamshire
Crimes committed by children under 10 is rising across Nottinghamshire

In the past three years in Notts, 96 crimes have been committed by children under 10-years-old, although we don’t know what type of crimes they are.

Last year alone 33 were reported - an increase from 2016 when only 13 were reported.

Since then the figures have been rising.

Crimes committed by children under 10 is rising across NottinghamshireCrimes committed by children under 10 is rising across Nottinghamshire
Crimes committed by children under 10 is rising across Nottinghamshire

In 2015, 31 crimes were reported which dropped to 13 the next year.

In 2017 the figure again rose to 19 reports.

What happens when a child commits an offence?

Children under 10 cannot be charged with committing a criminal offence.

However, they can be given a local child curfew, or a child safety order.

Children under 10 who break the law regularly can sometimes be taken into care, or their parents could be held responsible.

Mansfield accounts for six of the crimes committed in 2018, and Ashfield five.

Local child curfew

The police can ban children from being in a public place between 9pm and 6am, unless accompanied by an adult. This is called a local child curfew and can last for up to 90 days.

If a child breaks their curfew, they can be given a child safety order.

Child safety order

If a child has committed an offence or broken a local child curfew, they can be placed under the supervision of a youth offending team. This is called a child safety order.

The order normally lasts for up to three months, but in some cases it can last for up to 12 months.

If a child doesn’t stick to the rules of an order, the court can consider if the child should be taken into care.

Nottinghamshire Police have been contacted for comment.