Christopher Chapman murder: Girls jailed for life – BBC News
“Two teenage girls have been jailed for life for the murder of a man during a drunken row in Northumberland.”
BBC News, 21st October 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: young offenders
Rugby mobility scooter fire youth given hospital order – BBC News
“A 17-year-old boy who started a fire in a sheltered housing complex in Rugby has been sentenced to a hospital order.”
BBC News, 14th October 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Unicef criticises Britain for jailing children over riots – The Guardian
“Unicef has criticised the UK judicial system for locking up children allegedly involved in the August riots and warned ministers that they are likely to be in breach of their UN obligations to children’s rights.”
The Guardian, 9th October 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Rioter’s sentence reduced after appeal – The Independent
“The detention of a 17-year-old rioting drama student was upheld today by an appeal judge but his sentence was halved.”
The Independent, 6th October 2011
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Aiden Jackson guilty of murdering David Cowley – BBC News
“An 18-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering a man he arranged to meet for a sexual act.”
BBC News, 28th September 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Couple sentenced to four years each for abuse of 14-month-old girl – The Guardian
“A mother and her partner are starting custodial sentences for a catalogue of abuse that left a 14-month-old girl covered in injuries, with every fingernail blackened and bruised.”
The Guardian, 14th September 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Children as young as four reprimanded for racist behaviour – Daily Telegraph
“The equivalent of around 100 primary school pupils a day were reported to local authorities after using offensive language in lessons and the playground, it is claimed. In some cases, pupils were reprimanded for relatively trivial squabbles and employing insults such as ‘gaylord’ and ‘broccoli head’. Researchers said many children – some as young as four – are being reported despite being ‘unlikely to understand the meaning of these words’. Schools are obliged to report all ‘hate speech’ incidents to local authorities as part of the 2000 Race Relations Act.”
Daily Telegraph, 14th September 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Teenager caught with crack cocaine and heroin in bra freed early to go to university – Daily Telegraph
“A teenage girl caught with £800 of crack cocaine and heroin in her bra has been freed from prison 15 months early so she can go to university in time for freshers’ week.”
Daily Telegraph, 14th September 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Rebecca Aylward murder: Joshua Davies given 14 years – BBC News
“A 16-year-old boy who battered his former girlfriend to death has been jailed for a minimum of 14 years.”
BBC News, 2nd September 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Maturity’ is key when sentencing young people – Law Society’s Gazette
“Courts should pay more attention to a young person’s ‘maturity’ and less to their age when making sentencing decisions, a report by two criminal justice groups has recommended.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 1st September 2011
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
London riots: Boy, 11, sentenced over bin theft – BBC News
“An 11-year-old has been given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order for stealing a bin during the recent riots.”
BBC News, 31st August 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Naming young offenders should remain a rarity – The Guardian
“A court has decided to name a young person for his involvement in the recent riots. This is unusual in all but the most serious cases, such as the notorious Bulger murder.”
The Guardian, 26th August 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Annual Youth Justice Convention 2011 – Youth Justice Board
“The Annual Youth Justice Convention is the leading policy and networking event for all those committed to tackling youth crime.”
Youth Justice Board, 25th August 2011
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Facebook ban for teenager who encouraged rioters – The Guardian
“A 17-year-old who posted a Facebook message saying ‘come on rioters’ has been banned from social networking sites for 12 months.”
The Guardian, 17th August 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
England riots: how do judges go about sentencing young offenders? – The Guardian
“It is axiomatic that judicial discretion is at the heart of a humane criminal justice system but unbridled discretion can lead to discrimination, injustice and disproportionality – as we are learning. But, sentencing offenders, particularly juveniles, is a demanding and complex business. It is beset with the conflicting aims and ideals of the system itself, let alone the variety and nature of the offences and offenders. As criticism grows of some sentences imposed on convicted rioters, it is useful to examine how judges arrive at their decisions.”
The Guardian, 17th August 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Push to ‘name and shame’ rioters goes against spirit of the law – The Guardian
“New CPS guidance is hard to square with 2001 judgment against ‘naming and shaming’ of young offenders.”
The Guardian, 16th August 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Riots: magistrates advised to ‘disregard normal sentencing’ – The Guardian
“Magistrates are being advised by the courts service to disregard normal sentencing guidelines when dealing with those convicted of offences committed in the context of last week’s riots.”
The Guardian, 15th August 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
UK riots: juveniles could be named and shamed, says Theresa May – Daily Telegraph
“Juveniles involved in last week’s riots and looting face being named and shamed after the Home Secretary said the courts should not protect their identity.”
Daily Telegraph, 14th August 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Cracking down on youth offenders will mean they commit more crimes to pay the fines, claim probation officers – The Observer
“Prison numbers and crime rates will rise as a result of government attempts to curb youth crime, according to Napo, the union representing Britain’s probation workers.Napo claims late amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and the Punishment of Offenders bill, introduced in response to coalition concerns that it was seen to be going ‘soft on crime’, will backfire. The bill proposes a 10-fold increase in the fine for an individual who breaches a youth rehabilitation order, from the current £250 to £2,500.”
The Observer, 7th August 2011
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
Teenage ‘hacker’ appears in court – and creates a new bestseller – The Independent
“Shielded from the flashing cameras by a pair of sunglasses and clutching a book entitled Free radicals: The secret anarchy of science, the alleged LulzSec hacker Jake Davis left court yesterday morning after a judge granted him bail.”
The Independent, 2nd August 2011
Source: www.independent.co.uk
