Submitted by crinadmin on
[23 October 2007] - Children as young as ten are being given the power to mete out justice to teenage offenders. They will deal with youngsters guilty of spraying graffiti, vandalism, anti-social behaviour and under-age drinking. They will have the power to make the offenders clean up their mess and pay reparations to the victims of their vandalism. The 'peer panel' experiment, which began with a pilot scheme yesterday, could be rolled out nationwide. Police chiefs believe the scheme, which has been given a Treasury grant of almost £500,000, will create extra pressure on troublemakers to reform. But critics have argued that such decisions could be made by children of ten - the age of criminal responsibility and the earliest time the legal system considers them able to tell right from wrong. There are also fears that the young 'jurors' will be open to intimidation by offenders living in the same area or even going to the same school. John Fassenfelt of the Magistrates' Association said last night: "Children do not have the balance or maturity to make a judicial decision. "We are very much against this and amazed that such a meaningless exercise should have been given so much taxpayers' money." The first children's court, based on a U.S. idea, opened yesterday in Preston. One of a series of pilot projects to be run in the North-West, it aims to punish 300 young criminals in its first year, rising to 500 a year by 2009. It will deal with offenders under 17 who admit their guilt and are referred by police or youth offending teams. They will face panels of four children under minimal adult supervision. Some panel members will be youngsters identified by police as being on the brink of falling into criminal behaviour themselves. Others will selected from schools. The oldest member will be a 'peer advocate', aged over 15, who will take the leading role. There will also be a peer usher, who will escort the offender into the room, a peer administrator to supervise proceedings and a peer mentor who will act in a similar capacity to a lawyer for the offender. 'Highly trained' NACRO, the offenders' charity which is playing a major part in running the panels, said the administrators would be 'highly trained'. Victims of the crimes being considered will also be asked to be present. The hearings are being held in a new Restorative Justice Centre, in a large room designed to resemble a courtroom and impress teenagers as a formal setting. All those involved will assemble around a waist-high circular wooden railing in the centre of the room. If they agree to go ahead, they enter the circle and negotiate an agreement on what the offender should do. Simon Evans, of NACRO, said: "The panel will be able to ask the offender to sign an acceptable behaviour contract. "This can require the offender to pay back for their offence, for example by cleaning up litter or graffiti. "Victims will be able to ask offenders to do something for them, like working on their garden. "There will be a chance to look at the problems of an offender, and bring in help to deal with education, alcohol or family conflict issues." Offenders who fail to stick to their punishment will be referred back to the police, as will those who withdraw their confessions when the hearing starts. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the courts and is holding and paying out the £487,000 Treasury grant. NACRO officials say intimidation or revenge against panel members should not be a problem because an offender's participation in the scheme is voluntary. Further information
pdf: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23417726-details/'Child+judges'+aged+10+given+the+legal+power+to+punish+teenage+thugs/article.do