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Children as young as three commit crimes

A DISTURBING catalogue of child crime in Britain has been revealed, including toddlers as young as three being arrested for assault.

One four-year-old was held for a drugs offence while a six-year-old was believed to have carried out a burglary, a survey of police forces has revealed.

A seven-year-old was stopped for driving carelessly and a nine-year-old was caught carrying a knife, in further examples of what has been dubbed Broken Britain.

But no children were charged as they were under ten and therefore not deemed criminally responsible for their actions.

Other serious crimes where primary school pupils were thought to be 'probably responsible' included fraud, arson, racial harassment and even sex offences.

Bedfordshire Police recorded 58 crimes committed by under-tens, including an assault causing harm by a three-year-old toddler in Luton.

In Cumbria, where 44 under-ten s were arrested, two four-year-olds were questioned in connection with drugs and theft offences.

In Strathclyde, where 463 under-ten s were held over crimes, two seven-year-olds were reported for driving carelessly and being drunk.

There were 1,825 crimes committed by under-tens in 2007-08, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

But that number is believed to be just the tip of the iceberg, as police forces are not required to log offences committed by those under the age of criminal responsibility.






FED-UP YOUTH RUE VIOLENCE

VIOLENT crime, depression and stress are taking an ever greater toll on youngsters.

TWENTY per cent of males under 24 have been threatened with a knife while 27 per cent of those surveyed for a poll knew someone who carried a weapon and 78 per cent did not feel safe going out at night. 11 per cent had been asked to join a gang. 50 per cent said Britain was less safe than a year ago while 41 per cent said they were unhappy with life. And 63 per cent said they thought today s youth were more depressed than ever, the MTV survey found.






SKY NEWS

Police Grab 20,000 Litres of Kids Booze

Police have confiscated over 20,000 litres of alcohol from children during crackdown on underage drinking.

Officers seized 37,000 pints of beer and cider; 1,165 litres of wine; 1,027 litres of spirits; 1,225 litres of alcopops during the February half-term break.

Ministers say the £760,000 campaign  staged by 39 police forces in England and Wales  was a success.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker:  I know the public will welcome police action to disperse groups of threatening youths and choke their supply of alcohol.

 This campaign will not be the last.

An  Epidemic Of Alcohol Misuse 21/02/08

Shocking scenes of drunken violence on Britain s high streets point to an  epidemic of alcohol misuse, according to the British Medical Association. Now it is calling on the Government to do more to tackle the problem, as Sky s Ashish Josho reports.






How much do you drink in a week?

A HUGE survey is underway to find out more about people s drinking habits and its effect on their health.

A recent survey found 82 per cent of Tameside and Glossop residents drank alcohol- with 41 per cent admitting to drinking more than the recommended guidelines in the previous week.

Melanie Sirotkin, Tameside and Glossop PCT public health director, added:  Alcohol has a major impact on the health of people in Tameside and Glossop.






50 pupils a week in booze clinics

Fifty kids under the age of 14 are treated for alcohol abuse in Britain s hospitals every week. The shocking figures follow news that one in three children think sinking a bottle of wine a night is  normal .

Around 2,500 under-14s are taken to hospital every year because of boozing. And about 500 kids a year are expelled from school for drug and alcohol abuse.

Another 32,000 youngsters were suspended from school for the same reasons over a three-year period.

The figures show the extent of under-age binge drinking and the Government s failure to control it, say critics.

Crisis

Lib Dem leader leader Nick Clegg, 41, said:  We are dealing with a dangerously escalating public health crisis which can have tragic consequences for children s futures.

 As well as being illegal, it is irresponsible for pubs and shops to sell alcohol to under age-people.

Downing Street has brought in new laws where parents of boozy kids can be fined as part of a crackdown on under-age drinking.






CBBC Newsround Fears over  binge drinking kids (09/04/2008)

More and more teenagers are  binge drinking alcohol, which can affect their health and future, a report has warned.

And almost half of all secondary school kids have committed a crime.

The survey revealed that a quarter of 13 and 14- year- olds admitted they had  downed at least five drinks in one go.

And that shot up to half of all 15 and 16- year- olds.

And younger kids are drinking more too. Nine per cent of 11 and 12 year- old- boys described themselves as  regular drinkers . Five per cent of girls this age said the same.

One in four 11- year- old boys and one in six girls have at least one alcoholic drink a week, says a new study.

The study has shocked experts who think parents and the government worry too much about drugs and ignore drinking problems, reports the Observer newspaper.

Over 3,300 11-to-15 year-olds ended up in emergency rooms after drinking heavily last year in England alone.

Helen Gregory a peer counsellor for the Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service scheme in Carlisle. She said:  I think our youngest client this year has been about 10-years-old, and we have worked with a number of 13-year-olds.






CBBC Newsround (04/08/2008)

Sniffer dogs should be used to look for drugs in all UK schools, say experts

A team studied the results of a trial at six schools in Buckinghamshire and found the searches are good at stopping pupils bringing drugs into school.






Tom and Jerry to cut out smoking (04/08/2008)

Tom and Jerry cartoons will have some scenes of characters smoking edited out after a viewer complained about them being shown to children.

Two episodes  Texas Tom and Tennis Chumps  show the cartoon cat and his rival Butch smoking, but makers have now agreed to cut them out.

The move came after ofcom, the group that keeps an eye on broadcasting, said the scenes might encourage the habit.

Scenes which glamorise smoking could be cut from all cartoons.

Ofcom did say they recognised that the two episodes, which are over 50 years old, were made at a time when smoking was not considered as bad as it is today.

According to reports Turner Broadcasting, which owns the rights to the Tom an Jerry cartoons, has said it will cut smoking scenes out of about 1,500 of its cartoons.

These could also include episodes of Scooby Doo and The Flintstones.

A ban on smoking in public places will become law in England in July 2007. Scotland has already introduced a similar ban.