Violent crimes including knife attacks committed by under-tens soared by 38 per cent last year

VIOLENT crime involving under-tens rose by 38 per cent last year.

Police investigated a record number of offences by children too young to prosecute — including knife attacks, threats to kill, assault and robbery.

Experts say gang leaders now deliberately recruit under-tens because they cannot take action.

Youth leader Mick Neville, a retired Met detective chief inspector, said: “Older teenagers and gang leaders think nothing of using children to carry drugs or stolen goods, knowing a child under ten can’t be prosecuted.

“These older gang members will also encourage younger boys to commit robberies and violent crime as gang initiation ceremonies.’’

Figures from a Sun Freedom of Information request show under-tens were linked to more than 2,604 offences in 2017 — a 38 per cent increase on 2016’s total of 1,891.

The true figure may be even higher as 17 of 43 police forces, including Police Scotland, did not respond to our request.

Offences doubled in Merseyside and Durham and there were almost 100 per cent increases in South Yorkshire and Kent.

There were significant rises in the West Midlands, Cheshire, Warwickshire, Hampshire and Northumbria

In Dorset and Leicester, police questioned five-year-old boys over alleged knife offences.

Child safety campaigners said the increase was deeply worrying.

Theresa Cave, who campaigns against knife and violent crime in schools, said she has lowered her target age group to start at ten-year-olds.

Theresa, whose 17-year-old son Chris was stabbed to death in Cleveland in 2003, added: “I know of seven-year-olds taking huge knives into primary school.

“A lot of this is also down to older gang members getting younger children to commit serious crimes.

“Seven, eight, nine-year-olds are stabbing each other on the streets over drugs rackets.”

Under current law, under-tens cannot be prosecuted but can be given a curfew, a child safety order or taken into council care.

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