What Kinds of Crimes Do Children in England and Wales Commit (Essay Sample)

What kinds of crimes do children in England and Wales commit?
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ABSTRACT
The research has highlighted the kinds of crimes children in England and Wales commit. The most prominent crime that the study has found is crime against the person, which comprises 32% of all crimes committed by children. The research has found out that the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10, and at this point, a child is to be blamed for the guilt of his actions. In England and Wales, the Youth Justice Board is a body set to oversee the activities in the Youth Criminal Justice Department and ensure that children's rights are addressed when they are prosecuted. The research also addresses childhood deviance and the ones proven by police, which, according to the official data, are always lower than self-reported crimes. Children proven to have committed a crime are arrested, reprimanded or given a final warning, detained and prosecuted in courts for final verdicts. The research has also uncovered that England and Wales have set aside three bodies responsible for detaining children; the Youth Justice Institution, Secure Training Centres and Secure Children's Homes. The research identifies that the bodies have disadvantages as some children commit suicide, are withdrawn from society and re-offend. I have concluded that to address childhood deviance, we must look at the causes and address them to provide children with a safer community to grow in.
Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc108454283 \h 6CHAPTER ONE PAGEREF _Toc108454284 \h 8Role of the youth justice board PAGEREF _Toc108454285 \h 8How England and Wales deal with childhood deviance PAGEREF _Toc108454286 \h 8Arrests PAGEREF _Toc108454287 \h 10Prosecution, reprimands and final warning of the juvenile PAGEREF _Toc108454288 \h 11First appearance in court PAGEREF _Toc108454289 \h 12Bailing PAGEREF _Toc108454290 \h 12Detention PAGEREF _Toc108454291 \h 13Trial PAGEREF _Toc108454292 \h 13Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc108454293 \h 15CHAPTER TWO PAGEREF _Toc108454294 \h 16Crimes that children commit PAGEREF _Toc108454295 \h 16Types of proven offences by children as of March 2020 PAGEREF _Toc108454296 \h 16Violence against the person PAGEREF _Toc108454297 \h 17Assault/battery PAGEREF _Toc108454298 \h 17Offensive weapon offences PAGEREF _Toc108454299 \h 18Theft and handling stolen goods PAGEREF _Toc108454300 \h 20Drug offences PAGEREF _Toc108454301 \h 20Robbery PAGEREF _Toc108454302 \h 21Self-reported crimes PAGEREF _Toc108454303 \h 21CHAPTER THREE PAGEREF _Toc108454304 \h 24Institutions responsible for children offenders in England and Wales PAGEREF _Toc108454305 \h 24Young Offenders Institution (YOI) PAGEREF _Toc108454306 \h 25Secure Training Centre (STC) PAGEREF _Toc108454307 \h 25Secure Children’s Home PAGEREF _Toc108454308 \h 26Children's crime statistics in England and Wales PAGEREF _Toc108454309 \h 27Reason for decreased number of children in jail PAGEREF _Toc108454310 \h 33CHAPTER FOUR PAGEREF _Toc108454311 \h 35How children are treated in prisons PAGEREF _Toc108454312 \h 35Reason for being deviant PAGEREF _Toc108454313 \h 37Poverty and social responsibility PAGEREF _Toc108454314 \h 37Peer pressure PAGEREF _Toc108454315 \h 38CHAPTER FIVE PAGEREF _Toc108454316 \h 39Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc108454317 \h 39Bibliography PAGEREF _Toc108454318 \h 42
TOC \h \z \c "Figure"
Figure 1Types of proven offences by children as of March 2020. Source: Youth Justice Statistics for England and Wales, 2020/21 PAGEREF _Toc108454277 \h 16
Figure 2 Knife Offenses. Source: Youth Justice Statistics for England and Wales 2020/21 PAGEREF _Toc108454278 \h 18
Figure 3 Demographic characteristics of children who received caution or sentence. Source: Youth Justice Statistics for England and Wales 2020/21 PAGEREF _Toc108454279 \h 28
Figure 4 Trend in crime offending by gender. Source: Youth Justice Statistics for England and Wales 2020/21 PAGEREF _Toc108454280 \h 29
Figure 5 Crime offenders by age. Source: Youth Justice Statistics for England and Wales 2020/21 PAGEREF _Toc108454281 \h 30
Figure 6 Crime offending by ethnicity.Source: Youth Justice Statistics for England and Wales 2020/21 PAGEREF _Toc108454282 \h 31
INTRODUCTION
Criminal activities among children are considered unrealistic, but when they happen, it is questionable how a child can commit a crime. In most instances, parents raise their children to behave appropriately, and what would lead them to commit certain crimes may be an error in upbringing. Parents and guardians have a role in ensuring they show their children the proper channel of behaving, rather than letting them get into troubles that may be unlawful (Newburn, 2017). Numerous literature exists about youth offending, especially among children below the age of 18, and it is necessary to uncover the kinds of crime that is common among them. In different states, the age of criminal responsibility varies; therefore, children are subjected to committing other crimes at specific ages (Phillips, 2016). In the first place, according to the UN definition, children are persons under 18 and are therefore still under the care of parents or responsible adults. Parents and older families have a primary role in caring for these persons, and they are partly to blame when children assume rogue behaviour. The law is therefore different for children and adults regarding prosecution.
The topic is essential because most people think that the present generation of children is morally defiant and hence are highly likely to cause trouble in society. The demographic populations that precede generation Z are considered more ethically upright than the current generation due to factors such as the internet and exposure to a reluctant lifestyle. In England and Wales, the Youth Justice System is constantly faced with juvenile cases; therefore, prosecuting them becomes challenging (Newburn, 2017). The research topic is consequently selected because parents need to be aware of the types of crimes the youth commit and their general punishment.
I have also selected the topic because it is assumed that all youth commit the same crime, but in the real sense, the child under 18 commits different types of crime and is handled differently by the Youth Justice System. The research also clarifies the age of criminal responsibility so that parents and responsible adults can monitor their children when they reach that age and help them prevent some crimes. The rate of crime in children must be reduced across all states to ensure the safety of children and provide them with a promising future.
There is a need to assess the risk factors that place these children on the offending side and propose redemptive measures so that we can have children, not criminals, in the regions. Once risk factors are tabled, parents are better at knowing crimes that their children are likely to commit. The Youth Justice in England and Wales often receive severe cases from children, and it is apparent that most cases go unreported due to the assumption that the offenders are still children (Williams et al., 2014). This topic, therefore, gives insight and places responsibility on parents so that they act cautiously when their children act unlawfully.
CHAPTER ONE
Role of the youth justice board
The Youth Justice Board of England and Wales is a body in the criminal justice system that oversees the youth justice system and ensures that youth justice services are provided. The board is responsible for advising the secretary of state on matters relating to the youth justice system, preventing children from offending and re-offending, ensuring safe custody and addressing causes for child offending (Phillips, 2016). The Youth Justice Board decides where the child should be placed when they are arraigned in court or prosecuted, ensuring that no harm falls on the offenders. Some of the safe places the Youth Justice Board may recommend for young offenders include Secure Children's Homes (SCH), Secure Training Centers (STC), and under 18 Young Offender Institution (YOI), where boys alone are taken (Taylor, 2016). The current YJB's priorities include national standards for youth justice, secure schools, reduction of youth offending, safety and custody education, and resettlement and transitions in services (Phillips, 2016). Therefore, the Youth Justice Board is responsible for tracking down children's deviance, bringing justice to the victims and ensuring that the youth are tried fairly. Therefore, this board has a significant role in youth justice and crime reduction among young offenders.
How England and Wales deal with childhood deviance
A crime is defined as an illegal activity that is punishable by the law. If a person commits a crime and is discovered, the person could be arrested and charged with breaking the law. Depending on the magnitude of the crime, if found guilty, the person could be prosecuted and serve a jail term, a community order, or a fine. Deviance refers to characters that are against the social norms; hence a deviant person is likely to be ridiculed in society (Altheide). When society discovers a child is deviant, the child's upbringing is questioned, and the parents can be held responsible. Some deviant acts are illegal and hence may call upon legal actions against the offenders. Legal deviance, on the other hand, is perceived as abnormal behaviour but does not break the law; hence legal actions are not taken against the offenders (Phillips, 2016). The department of youth criminal justice seeks to solve deviant actions that break the law, and deviant children are held accoun...