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Official figures show that more than 34,600 British youngsters between 10 – the age of criminal responsibility – and 17 were convicted of a crime in England and Wales last year.
The figures from the UK Ministry of Justice and published in the Telegraph included 120 primary school children, who were found guilty of a criminal offense in 2013.
In addition, the data revealed how thousands of British youths are caught in a cycle of reoffending, breaking the law over and over again.
The data showed that more than 22,500 children had broken the law at least once before. Among those were nearly 5,000 children aged 16 or 17 who had more than five previous convictions, including 243 who had been convicted of more than 20 times.
An education expert, Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, commented on the figures, saying they provide further evidence of the terrible consequences of weaknesses in the British education system.
According to McGovern, 129,000 British pupils finish primary education without a good understanding of the three so-called Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic. The expert added that failing to achieve basic standards in the three subjects could lead children to disengage with their education and lead some of them into criminal activities.
“It is inexcusable that children are leaving primary schools without being able to read, write and add up, and this is disastrous for their secondary school careers, which can lead to absenteeism and criminal activities,” said McGovern, adding that, “We are letting children down in our schools.”
Furthermore, Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the data showed the British authorities were still failing to help a large number of “deeply troubled and disturbed” children.
CAH/HJL
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