‘Parenting skills’ blamed after huge rise in schoolchildren found guilty of knife crimes

MORE than 50 ten and 11-year-olds were convicted or cautioned for knife crime last year, according to data obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

The primary school pupils are only just above the age of criminal responsibility but will now have a serious crimi- nal record. The figures, obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the Ministry of Justice, also show the number of 10 to 17-year-olds convicted or cautioned for knife crime is at a tenyear high, up by 62 per cent to 4,103 offenders in just five years.

The figures are significant as the in- cidents were so serious that police decided to prosecute or issue a criminal sanction. The offences include making threats with a knife or possession.

They come as a 15-year-old-boy stabbed during a fight became the 100th victim in London to die as a result of violent crime this year.

Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, which is named after the 16-year-old stabbed to death in north London, said the figures were “deeply concerning.”

“[We] are failing to address the root causes of knife crime and there needs to be a much stronger focus on prevention and early intervention,” he said.

“While it is encouraging to see that police are using their powers to take knives and those who carry them off our streets, our starting point for intervening has to change.

“If we [rely] on the police and courts to resolve this issue, we will create a revolving door where first-time offenders quickly become serial offenders.”

Caroline Shearer, founder of charity Only Cowards Carry after her son Jay, 17, was stabbed to death, said parents had to be made to take responsibility for their children through training and sanctions. “If 10-year-olds are running around with knives, where are the parenting skills?” she said.

She also called for mandatory sentences for anyone caught with a knife: “We need mandatory sentences where judges can’t make exemptions, a set time so they know if they carry a knife and they’re caught then, bang, they are going to serve five years.”

The figures show the number of 10 and 11-year-olds convicted or cautioned for knife crime has increased by half in five years from 35 to 53 in 2018 and follows reports of even younger children bringing blades into primary schools.

The data shows an increasing number being convicted or cautioned as they approach their GCSES, including 142 12-year-olds, 253 13-year-olds, 594 14-year-olds and 801 15-year-olds.