Youth offending might be falling, but sexual offences by under-18s show little sign of decline.
The most recent Youth Justice Board figures show that children and young people committed 1,888 proven sexual offences in 2011/12, down 3.3 per cent on the 1,952 in 2009/10. However, this compares to a 22.2 per cent fall in the total number of crimes committed by young people in the same period.
There is a range of reasons why children and young people commit sexual offences, from a lack of boundaries growing up to being victims of sexual abuse themselves. There are also growing concerns that the ease of access to hardcore pornography online is making the situation worse.
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