Interesting article - young people, grooming and criminalisation
Notifications OFF
This is interesting: Grooming survivors left with criminal records still being failed, BBC told https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly7jjq8nr1
Has read across for me to online offending space and grooming of young people who are then subject to being criminalised, particularly those who are 18 when arrested but under 18 when offending. Some very vulnerable young people are being groomed into dark spaces (not just iioc but radicalism and terrorism, weapons and violence, race/ anti-women hate crime etc.). But I don't see anyone talking about this. It breaks my heart that no one is spotting the vulnerabilities and how this group of offenders is being handled, instead they're treated as adults and often split from their families due to bail conditions.
@lucyfaithfulfoundation - is this something you're doing or aware of others that are? I would support using our experience the lobbying of government to shine a light on this.
Has read across for me to online offending space and grooming of young people who are then subject to being criminalised, particularly those who are 18 when arrested but under 18 when offending. Some very vulnerable young people are being groomed into dark spaces (not just iioc but radicalism and terrorism, weapons and violence, race/ anti-women hate crime etc.). But I don't see anyone talking about this. It breaks my heart that no one is spotting the vulnerabilities and how this group of offenders is being handled, instead they're treated as adults and often split from their families due to bail conditions.
@lucyfaithfulfoundation - is this something you're doing or aware of others that are? I would support using our experience the lobbying of government to shine a light on this.
I think this comes under the wider heading of internet safety for kids and there has been a lot of campaigning about that. It is on the news every other day.
There is a ban on social media for under 16s and possibly under 18s coming, if you believe the rumours and it will be announced next week.
More broadly it sounds like there are going to be lots of other restrictions which will affect everybody not just children. Sounds as if all adults are going to be treated as though they are children, unless they can prove otherwise by verifying their age.
If the manufacturers of smartphones do what the govt asks and turn on all the safety features that exist on phones already, rather than leaving it up to parents to choose whether or not to switch those features on, then it probably will have an impact.
There is a ban on social media for under 16s and possibly under 18s coming, if you believe the rumours and it will be announced next week.
More broadly it sounds like there are going to be lots of other restrictions which will affect everybody not just children. Sounds as if all adults are going to be treated as though they are children, unless they can prove otherwise by verifying their age.
If the manufacturers of smartphones do what the govt asks and turn on all the safety features that exist on phones already, rather than leaving it up to parents to choose whether or not to switch those features on, then it probably will have an impact.
It is indeed heartbreaking that under 18's are receiving sentences the same as adults. Many having waited years for their case to come to court, seeing them as an adult now stood in the dock as opposed the immature teen tjey were could make a difference to their sentence even if their age at the time is taken into account. It means that before they have begun their adult life it is curtailed and so many options taken from them. Their future education, job prospects travel. a normal relationship & family life. There is a vast difference between a grown adult commiting such offences and a immature teen. Of course there need to be consequences but ones that don't ruin a young life before it starts.
Dear Shfjaojsbth,
Thanks for flagging this - this is a really important and concerning issue to raise, and we appreciate you sharing the article. We’re not aware of any specific work on this at the moment, but we’ll make sure our media and communications team are aware of the article and the points you’ve raised so they can consider whether and how we might respond or contribute to the wider conversation.
We really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Thank you again for sharing.
The Forum Team
Thanks for flagging this - this is a really important and concerning issue to raise, and we appreciate you sharing the article. We’re not aware of any specific work on this at the moment, but we’ll make sure our media and communications team are aware of the article and the points you’ve raised so they can consider whether and how we might respond or contribute to the wider conversation.
We really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Thank you again for sharing.
The Forum Team
The statistics show that hardly any under 18s get taken to court. We do hear about a lot being arrested and that is an issue. However they are subject to a different charging regime than adults, so they are much less likely to be prosecuted. As for sentencing I do not believe there is any evidence to show that they do receive the exact same sentence as an adult. Every case is unique, but the judge should take their age at the time into account and that increases the chance of a reduced sentence.
In the very rare cases where they do get sentenced, there is provision in the rules for them to spend half the amount of time on the SOR, compared to what an adult would get. So again they are treated differently to adults.
There are two distinct issues raised here. One about bail and the other about the time it takes to get a charging decision. There is an argument for not imposing bail restrictions on under 18s and you could challenge the bail restrictions by going to court, because a judge may be more sympathetic than the police.
As for the time it takes, you could make an argument that under 18s should be moved to the front of the queue, although that just mean adults would have to wait even longer.
In the very rare cases where they do get sentenced, there is provision in the rules for them to spend half the amount of time on the SOR, compared to what an adult would get. So again they are treated differently to adults.
There are two distinct issues raised here. One about bail and the other about the time it takes to get a charging decision. There is an argument for not imposing bail restrictions on under 18s and you could challenge the bail restrictions by going to court, because a judge may be more sympathetic than the police.
As for the time it takes, you could make an argument that under 18s should be moved to the front of the queue, although that just mean adults would have to wait even longer.
I expect everyone who has posted in this section wishes those stats were true.
