Girl, two, reported for shoplifting thought to be UK's youngest ever 'thief'

It is not yet clear whether the tot faced further action by police

A girl aged two who was reported for shoplifting is thought to be the UK's youngest ever 'thief'.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed the shocking case today as crimes involving children under ten soar across Britain.

Details of the reported theft are unclear and it is not yet known whether the tot was the subject of any further action by police or whether her parents were involved.

But Dany DuBois, a Cambridge-based counsellor and psychotherapist who deals with child-related issues, said youngsters under the age of ten have no moral compass and should not be reported to police for such alleged crimes.

He said: "The general opinion of psychologists is that a child below the age of 10 to 12 does not have a full moral understanding of right and wrong.

"A two-year-old will pick up lots of things that attracts them but they would have no concept that is stealing and there are more appropriate ways of dealing with that rather than going to the police.

"But if say a child of five is doing something that may look like rape, then they may be copying behaviour they have seen and could be being abused.

"And in that case, going to the authorities is the best thing to do - but maybe not the police, but instead, a social worker."

Figures released by the Cambridgeshire force show a surge in the number of children under 10 being accused of offences ranging from rape, arson and actual bodily harm to racially or religiously aggravated harassment.

The youngest boy reported to police for an alleged rape was just five years old, the data revealed.

Many of the offences came after members of the public reported youngsters to officers.

Last year the number of children under the age of criminal responsibility reported to the police was at a six-year high.

One four-year-old boy was reported for sexual activity with another child and another for criminal damage to a home.

A five-year-old girl was accused of criminal damage and five children aged six, including a girl, were reported for crimes including assault and sexual assault.

A nine-year-old was reported for affray and another for a racist assault, and several were accused of theft and sex attacks.

Figures going back to 2009 show in that year, 49 youngsters, including five children aged four and three aged five, including boy accused of rape, were reported to police.

 

The following year a total of 32 under-10s were reported, and 25 in 2011.

The number fell to 14 in 2012 and 19 in 2013 but leapt to 56 last year.

In 2014 the girl aged two was accused of theft from a shop, making her the youngest child ever to be reported to Cambridgeshire police and probably the youngest across Britain.

Also last year a four-year-old boy was reported for sexual activity with a female child family member and another boy the same age was reported for criminal damage.

A five-year-old girl was reported for vandalism and a six-year-old girl for common assault and battery.

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: "In most cases, we do not believe custody is a place for children because there are more effective methods which actually reduce the chances of re-offending.

"Restorative justice, which is often used when dealing young first-time offenders, gives an officer the opportunity to resolve a situation successfully, with the approval of the victim, without arresting and criminalising the person responsible.

"The process gives victims the chance to tell offenders the real impact of their crime, to get answers to questions and an apology, while offenders are given the chance to take responsibility for what they've done and make amends but not acquire the stigma of a criminal record.

"Custody staff and duty managers are urged to carefully consider whether children need to be kept in custody overnight and a new under-15s category has been added to force statistics to give leaders greater visibility of detainees who are most vulnerable by virtue of their age."