Number of North teenage tearaways rockets

Aug 31 2008 by Robert Weatherall, Sunday Sun

THE number of teenage tearaways in the North has rocketed in the last 10 years, we can reveal.

Figures obtained by the Sunday Sun show a shocking rise in the number of out-of-control young criminals who repeatedly commit crimes without any fear of being punished.

In 1997, there were 1369 Persistent Young Offenders — PYOs — in the region but, by 2007, that figure had shot up to 1958 . . . a 43 per cent rise. In North Yorkshire, the figure has more than doubled, from 120 to 252.

Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwill claims the only way to tackle the soaring figures is to give magistrates the powers to impose tougher sentences.

He said: “It’s a shocking state of affairs and shows the Government’s plans to tackle youth crime have been a failure. I think the fixed- penalty fine system has been shown not to work.

“I was speaking with a group of magistrates just the other week and they said that they see the same people coming back before them time and time again who have failed to pay their fines. Eventually, the figure just gets wiped off.

“There are people out there who know that, even if they do get punished, quite often the punishments aren’t enforced properly.”

A PYO is classified as a person aged between 10 and 17 who has been sentenced on three or more occasions for any kind of crime.

Mr Goodwill added: “This isn’t the fault of the police. The police are doing a good job in terms of trying to tackle youth crime but, from what I hear, once they catch young criminals and bring them before the courts, the punishments just aren’t sufficient to act as a deterrent.

“The magistrates can’t impose custodial sentences because there just aren’t enough spaces to send people to.”

Cumbria saw its numbers of PYO rise from 148 to 240, Durham from 191 to 278, and Northumbria from 588 to 908.

However, Cleveland Police was one of only two forces in the country to see a decrease in the number of PYOs over the 10-year period.

In 1997, there were 322 PYOs but, last year, that figure was only 280. Detective chief superintendent Mark Braithwaite of Cleveland Police said: “We are encouraged by these figures that, in part, reflect the significant partnership investment that has been made in support of diversion schemes and other projects across the force area.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said significant investment had been made in tackling youth crime and that PYOs were now brought before the courts twice as quickly as in 1997.