The extent of British youth crime wave revealed – 1000s of violent crimes | England | News

The scale of violent and serious crimes committed by children has been revealed in a new report.

Freedom of Information requests to all police forces and the Youth Justice Board uncovering violent and serious crime, including knife crime, violence against the person, robbery and sexual offences, account for more than half of all cautions and fines issued to young people.

Figures show 19,396 warnings and fines were issued to children and young people across 42 police forces in England and Wales last year. 60 percent of these incidents (11,639 incidents) involved violent and serious crimes, including robbery, violence against the person and sexual offences.

The data also shows that violence against the person has seen the biggest increase of any other crime involving under-18s over the last 10 years, rising by 12.4 per cent in England and Wales since 2013.

Knife crime and violence have also increased in England and Wales over the past decade, particularly in London, where the Metropolitan Police Service has seen a 21 per cent increase in knife or bladed weapon incidents between 2022 and 2023.

Data obtained by law firm Legal Expert has raised concerns about the scale and scope of violent crime committed by children and young people.

The issue came to the fore early last month after a 14-year-old boy was accused of fatally assaulting an 80-year-old man from Leicestershire. Bhim Kohli died after he was attacked while walking his family’s dog in a local park. The 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to his age, is expected to appear in court in February.

I saw the Prime Minister this year too. Keir Starmer partnering with actor and campaigner, Idris Elba An anti-knife coalition has been formed to tackle youth violence following a spate of stabbings across the UK, including a 13-year-old boy who was stabbed to death at his home in Oldbury in the West Midlands in late August.

The new report echoes a groundbreaking study by government advisers last year that found half of young people in England and Wales had witnessed or been victims of violence in 2022/23.

Specialist solicitor Jane Davies said: “The rise in violent crime involving young people is shocking and worrying.

“Whether they are victims or suspects, more needs to be done to combat further escalation and prevent further tragedies from occurring.”