NEWS COPY – by Liam Corcoran
** EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 FRIDAY MARCH 20 – PLEASE NO ONLINE USE BEFORE **
A third of burglaries in England and Wales are committed by CHILDREN, according to new statistics.
Researchers found that of 291,567 burglaries where an offender was caught, 95,872 – or 32 per cent – were aged under 18.
It was also revealed that of the total 1,068,901 burglaries committed between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2013, less than a third resulted in a conviction.
The study was carried out by home security firm ADT, which submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to 43 police forces in England and Wales.
Spokesperson Gail Hunter said: “We have found that some of the worst affected victims of burglary are children, yet these statistics have shown that the perpetrators of the crimes are children themselves.
“Our aim is to deter burglars and give householders peace of mind.”
Of the 23 forces who responded to the FoI request, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester and the Metropolitan Police having the highest percentage of child burglars.
Nottinghamshire had the highest rate of minors at 43 per cent, Greater Manchester had 41 per cent and London had 37 per cent.
In contrast, only four police forces registered a figure lower than 15 per cent, with Wiltshire the lowest at three per cent.
Norfolk registered 9.8 per cent, Thames Valley 13.9 per cent and Durham had 14 per cent.
The new figures by ADT as part of its ‘Take No More’ campaign with the charity Victim Support, which aims to highlight the impact of burglaries.
John Hayward Cripps, Director for Victim Support, said: “From supporting thousands of burglary victims every year, we know that what they want most is for no one else to suffer like they have.
“It’s sad that the young people committing these crimes are detrimentally affecting their peers the most.
“People aged 10 -16 years old are much more likely to be the victim of a crime than at any other time in their life.”
Full figures of burglaries between 2008 and 2013:
Force – Total – Offenders caught – Number under 18 – Percentage
Avon & Somerset- 69520 – 9527- 1998 – 20.97197439
Bedfordshire – 20822 – 5472 – 1134 – 20.72368421
Devon & Cornwall – 22423 – 3585 – 645 – 17.9916318
Dorset – 10900 – 3021 – 642 – 21.25124131
Durham – 11132 – 2922 – 410 – 14.03148528
Gloucestershire – 33200 – 3892 – 862 – 22.14799589
Greater Manchester – 111243 – 21013 – 8742 – 41.6028173
Kent – 33529 – 7058 – 1792 – 25.38962879
Lincolnshire – 13135 – 2137 – 279 – 13.05568554
Met – 362013 – 163652 – 60790 – 37.14589495
Norfolk – 9658 – 2290 – 224 – 9.781659389
North Yorkshire – 10961 – 2424 – 449 – 18.52310231
Northamptonshire – 20297 – 3391 – 1102 – 32.49778826
Northumbria – 22904 – 4341 – 827 – 19.05090993
Nottinghamshire – 37427 – 5116 – 2232 – 43.62783425
South Yorkshire – 46847 – 8989 – 2237 – 24.88597174
Staffordshire – 20228 – 3518 – 698 – 19.84081865
Thames Valley – 54730 – 7372 – 1025 – 13.90396093
Warwickshire – 12674 – 2171 – 404 – 18.60893597
West Mercia – 19070 – 4610 – 725 – 15.72668113
West Yorkshire – 108024 – 21796 – 7933 – 36.39658653
Wiltshire – 8765 – 652 – 20 – 3.067484663
North Wales – 9399 – 2618 – 702 – 26.81436211
Sub Total – 1,068,901 – 291567 – 95872 – 32.8816361
ENDS
