Police condemnation of government measures forcing them to make arrests for petty offences, such as a child throwing a cucumber slice, should represent a wake-up call to a target-driven culture that has spun out of control. The Children's Society remains concerned, however, that the Government's preoccupation with number chasing merely serves to sustain a youth justice system model that prioritises punishment.
What is all too often not reported in the media is that children are more than twice as likely as any other age group to be victims of crime, of previously unreported abuse, neglect, and trauma. In fact, if the Government is to comply with its obligations under the Children Act 2004 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the welfare of the thousands of children at risk caught up within the criminal justice system should be of paramount concern.
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