Boy, 5, accused of stalking and dozens of under 10s suspected of rape
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Soaring numbers of crimes are being committed by children under 10, new data has shown.
By Kirsten Robertson
Five-year-olds have been investigated for stalking, four-year-olds for theft and children younger than 10 have been accused of child porn offences.
A staggering 34,000 crimes have been carried out over the last decade by those too young to be prosecuted.
New data, released by 25 police forces, shows under 10s are also accused of serious crimes such as rape and drug offences.
As 10 is the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales, the suspects cannot be charged with committing a criminal offence.
The figures warn that child crime is a growing problem in Britain, with 4,729 crimes being committed in 2021 – up from 3,815 in 2020 and 4,447 in 2019.
Solicitor Laurence Lee, who represented 10-year-old Jon Venables in the James Bulger case, believes the reality is probably even worse than the numbers suggest.
Mr Lee, based in Liverpool, said: ‘I think these numbers are und...
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