The police watchdog has warned that smartphones give children easy access to violence and pornography, which desensitises them. The Telegraph reports that Tom Winsor, the chief inspector of the constabulary, has said that exposure to such images can warp children's perception of the issues and puts them at risk of becoming criminals.
Sunderland City Council has pledged to continue supporting a youth scheme that had been facing an unsure future due to fire service cuts. The Sunderland Echo reports that the long-term future of the Phoenix Project, based at Sunderland Central Fire Station, was in doubt after a decision to axe the station as part of multi-million-pound cuts. The scheme has been credited with contributing to a drop in youth offending rates.
A charity working to tackle gangs in Croydon is being forced to leave the borough due to a lack of funding. The Croydon Advertiser reports that the SOS Project, run by St Giles Trust, works to get ex-offenders into study, training or jobs and escape a cycle of violent crime. However funding for the project has run out.
The number of under 16s in Northamptonshire who are in custody has more than halved since 2007. The Northamptonshire Telegraph reports that latest figures for 2012/13 show that there are just 45 young people in custody, compared to 99 in 2007/08.
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