Courts free 76% of teen muggers
By TOM NEWTON DUNN, Political Editor
Published: 21-11


SOFT courts are letting 76 per cent of teenage muggers go free, The Sun can reveal.

Shock figures also show that fewer than 20 per cent of young burglars are locked up for raiding people's homes.

Just one in ten young arsonists ends up behind bars, and a shocking 96 per cent of juvenile sex offenders go free.

The bombshell statistics — obtained through The Sun's Freedom of Information requests — reveal just how lenient Britain's youth courts have become.

Of the 72,841 crimes prosecuted in youth courts over the past 12 months, just 4,849 were punished by custodial sentences — a ratio of one in 15.

Instead of being put in young offenders' institutions, the vast majority of teenage criminals are let off with fines, referral or rehabilitation orders, and even weaker reparation or compensation requests.

Courts dealt with 3,194 robberies by under-18s, but just 762 cases, or 24 per cent, ended in custodial sentences. A mere one in 17 violent offenders was locked up.


Youth courts deal with offences committed by anyone aged ten to 17, with only the most serious cases sent to crown court. Specially-trained magistrates can lock up young people for up to two years.
Those aged ten to 14 can be sent to secure children's homes, while 15 to 17-year-olds can be sent to secure training centres. Young offenders' institutions — run by the Prison Service — take 15 to 21-year-olds.

Our revelations last night led to renewed attacks on soft Justice Secretary Ken Clarke's "light touch" system of punishment. Tory MP Priti Patel called the figures "shocking". She said: "These individuals know what they're doing, they are old enough to understand the law.

"The fact they're not being punished properly shows how feeble our criminal justice system is.

"Worse than that, it's failing to protect the public."

The Ministry of Justice said: "Sentencing is a matter for the independent judiciary. Their decisions are based on the individual circumstances of each case."

Bron: The Sun: Bron

Mijn mening:
Deze cijfers zijn natuurlijk wel Brits maar ik vind ze best verontrustend. Ik vind het niet normaal dat tieners in zoveel gevallen niet gestraft worden. Ik zou het begrijpen als het enkel ging om winkeldiefstallen of slagen en verwondingen op fuiven. In sommige gevallen is het misschien beter om een alternatieve straf te geven. Maar in dit artikel staat dat slechts 1 op 10 jonge brandstichters in de gevangenis terecht komt en dat maar liefst 96% van de jonge zedendelinquenten er zonder gevangenisstraf vanaf komt. Dit vind ik toch al zaken die serieus genoeg zijn om er een straf achter tralies aan vast te knopen.