In the UK, children between the ages of 10 and 17 are not sent to adult prisons if convicted of a crime but, instead, to special secure centres. A range of other options are available including referral orders in which the young offender is referred to a panel of trained community volunteers and a member of the youth offending team. These orders might include restitution of the damage done and/or undertaking a programme of interventions and activities to address their offending behaviour.
In short, the punishment is lighter and more restorative or rehabilitative than for adults. This situation occurred recently when two boys aged 11 and 12 killed more than 20 animals and damaged the property of others during a break-in at an environmental college in west London.
Comment: the killing of 20 animals by an individual would certainly result in a custodial sentence in the UK if the offender was an adult. That was made clear in the magistrates court by the chairwoman of the presiding justices in this case. She said: “It’s horrific what you have done. We don’t want to see the video; we can’t face it. It’s well you are not adults because you [both] would have faced a significant time in custody.”
The children who can’t be named caused unnecessary suffering to a range of animals at this facility including snakes, birds and rabbits. They had entered Caple Manor College on February 24.
Their activities were videoed on security cameras. It showed them “throwing animals around, slamming them on the floor [and] stamping on them”. Many died. And they stole some animals including ferrets, guinea pigs and three stakes. A barn owl escaped and was recaptured.
The boys had no previous convictions and had spent two days in custody. They were given one year referral orders. Comment: some might consider this to be a light sentence but with children of this age the consensus is that their behaviour needs to be corrected as the primary objective rather than be punished. This is to help prevent them going down a path of criminality which can happen if you going to prison, mixing with other criminals.
