A four-year-old accused of sex offences and a six-year-old alleged to have been a burglar are among the young children reported for crimes in Cumbria.

The News & Star can reveal that 478 children aged under 10 were reported for crimes in the last five years.

The largest number – 114 children – were said to have been responsible for assaults that did not lead to an injury.

Sixty one children – one as young as three – were accused of being responsible for car crimes.

Other crimes investigated included bike thefts, burgaries and hate incidents – with one child as young as five being accused of this type of offence.

Details from the files of the county’s police force, revealed through a Freedom of Information Request, show the crimes alleged to have been carried out by children below the age of criminal responsibility.

Youngsters under 10 can’t be arrested or charged with a crime.

There are, however, other punishments that can be given to children under this age who break the law.

Police stress most offences committed by children tend to be against other youngsters. Assaults, they add, might sound frightening – but can be low level crimes.

A police spokesman said: “There are other punishments that can be given to children under 10 who break the law.

“Options available to the police include a Local Child Curfew, which gives the police the power to ban children from being in a public place between 9pm and 6am, unless accompanied by an adult.”

If a child breaks a curfew they can be made subject to a Child Safety Order, where families are placed under obligations to improve their child’s behaviour.

The spokesman added: “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.”

Chris Armstrong, headteacher of Brampton Primary School, stressed the behaviour of children at his school was “very good”.

On the figures, he said: “A four-year-old committing a sexual offence is shocking – quite alarming actually.

“The figures are quite worrying and it has shocked me that there are so many. You wonder why that is happening.”

The NSPCC said children must be supported – and that youngsters would struggle to understand the consequences of what they had done. A spokesman said: “The criminal justice system must support children who have committed offences to change their behaviour and hold young people increasingly accountable for their actions as they mature.

“But at age 10, children are unlikely to understand the consequences of their actions or be able to effectively participate in criminal proceedings. The NSPCC believes the age of criminal responsibility should be raised to at least 12 years of age in England.

“Robust action outside the youth justice system to deal with child offenders aged 10 and 11 would serve justice more effectively and better prevent future crime.”

Mr Armstrong said every school has a robust procedure in place to deal with troublemakers.

He added: “If a child under 10 commits a crime then we would obviously talk to the parents, seek advice from the local authority and children’s services and involve the police. It would depend on the nature as to what it is.”

He said: “These days we worry about the content of some computer games and the access children have to the internet.

“We are very strict in school about that.”

The police spokesman added: “When children do commit offences, they tend to be against other children. The majority of the offences reported to have been committed by children are anti-social-type offences such as damage to property.

“Changes to the way crimes are recorded means that offences recorded as assault can be relatively low-level common assaults.”


The crimes children have been accused of – and the number and ages of those alleged to be involved:
Theft – 15 children, ages ranging from four to nine
Arson – One child aged 8
Assault with injury – 64 children, ages ranging from six to nine
Assault without injury – 114 children, ages ranging from three to nine
Bicycle theft – Eight children, ages ranging from six to nine
Burglary dwelling – Two children, ages ranging from eight to nine
Burglary other than a dwelling – 10 children, ages ranging from six to nine
Damage to dwellings – 27 children, ages ranging from five to nine
Damage to other buildings – 23 children, ages ranging from four to nine
Damage to vehicles – 61 children, ages ranging from three to nine
Harrassment – Two children, ages ranging from six to seven
Hate incident – 13 children, ages ranging from five to nine
Other damage – 40 children, ages ranging from four to nine
Public order offences – One child, aged nine
Sexual offences – 23 children, ages ranging from four to nine
Possession of weapons offences – Four children, ages ranging from eight to nine
Public fear, alarm or distress – 24 children, ages ranging from five to nine
Sex offence – Seven children, ages ranging from five to nine
Shoplifting – 35 children, ages ranging from five to nine
Theft from a motor vehicle – Four children, ages ranging from eight to nine

TOTAL: 478 children