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Summary: Figures have shown that the number of young children suffering serious violence has increased by a fifth in just a year.
[19 April 2011] - Increasing costs to take a child into care were last night partly blamed for the rise in attacks on under-10s because youngsters may instead be left in “risky circumstances” in the home. Academics also suggested a trend in adults drinking at home instead of going out could result in some violent drunks targeting family members instead of strangers in the pub. A total of 3,402 children aged ten or under were treated in accident and emergency units after a violent attacks in 2010, according to the annual study of hospital admissions by Cardiff University. That was up from 2,814 in 2009 and was the only age group to show a rise in violence. Overall there were 37,000 fewer victims of serious attacks last year, a fall of more than 10 per cent. However, researchers said the increase in young victims was a “real issue”. Professor Jonathan Shepherd, director of the University’s Violence and Society Research Group, said the rise followed an eight per cent increase the previous year and that the “trend is going on the wrong track”. He said reasons for the trend were unclear but one possibility was the fact it is more expensive to take a child into care. Fees for local authorities to take cases to court rose dramatically in 2008 from around £150 to up to £4,800. Judges and lawyers at the time warned it could increase the risk of children suffering domestic abuse. "There may be children left in risky circumstances where they would have been taken into care before," he said. Prof Shepherd also warned people are increasingly drinking at home instead of going out because it is cheaper and that also increases the risk of a child being exposed to violence. The figures, which come before the publication of British Crime Survey statistics later this week, showed an estimated 313,033 people were treated following violence in 2010, 37,000 fewer than in 2009. Youth violence, injuries to those aged 11 to 17, was down 16.5 per cent. The falls were down to a combination of "better, more targeted policing" and the development of more partnerships between police and local agencies, Prof Shepherd said. He added that the steady decline in cases of violence leading to hospital treatment in recent years suggested that national economic factors were "probably not influential" as there were no blips during periods of boom or bust. The figures from Cardiff University, which collected data from 59 emergency departments and minor injury units in England and Wales, also showed that men aged 18 to 30 were at the highest risk of being injured by violence. Violence-related hospital visits were most frequent on Saturday and Sunday, and peaked between May and October, the figures showed. Further Information:
Owner: Thomas Whiteheadpdf: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8458947/Young-child...