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VIOLENT crimes committed by minors are an increasing concern for the police’s family protection unit.
Detective Sergeant Sarah-Jane Snowdon said that it worked towards finding the root causes of attacks.‘There does seem to be an awful lot going on involving children,’ she said.Recently, seven-year-old Derry Ferbrache, who lives at Les Genats Estate, Cobo, Castel, was allegedly attacked with a jagged piece of glass by a youth.Police are investigating.And in response to parents’ fears that officers were powerless to stop young children committing acts of violence, DS Snowdon said all allegations of crime by minors were investigated fully.‘If officers suspected there were child protection issues with the alleged suspect, or victim, they would refer the case to me,’ she said.‘If we thought that either the accused or the victim was suffering any sort of abuse that would lead them to inflict violence on another child, we would act.‘When a crime has been committed, whether they are under the age of responsibility or not, I would want to get to the bottom of why they were behaving in an aggressive way.’She said there was always an underlying reason why a child would commit a violent crime.
Archive for October 9th, 2007
Police concerns at young thugs
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Fears are mounting that Norfolk County Council’s social services department could suffer because of a national shortage of skilled social workers. The shortage is so bad across the country that councils are paying for officials to travel abroad to find experienced staff, the co-president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, John Coughlan has warned. Some councils have resorted to paying new employees ‘golden hellos’ and awarding bursaries to undergraduates to encourage them to complete their social work degrees and Norfolk County Council has previously tried to recruit social workers from Canada to plug gaps. The news of the worsening national situation comes just months after it emerged that the number of looked-after children in care in Norfolk climbed to a record high of 849. It also comes seven years on from the tragic death of six-year-old Lauren Wright, who died at the hands of her abusive father and stepmother in May 2001. A post mortem examination showed Lauren had 60 bruises on her body when she died and had been hit so hard in the stomach her digestive system collapsed. David Wright, Norfolk’s director of social services at the time, said it was clear the department had made wrong decisions and said it was a clear case of human error. Norfolk County Council was today unable to provide details of social worker shortages, but two years ago the vacancy rate was more than 30pc. That was before a recruitment drive in Canada brought in eight more social workers.
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WILTSHIRE Police has been told the amount of paperwork given to officers investigating child abuse is putting cases at risk.
The conclusion comes in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary – a review of the 43 forces in England and Wales.
Only six out of the 43 fared worse than Wiltshire, which was ranked good in tackling crime and fair in six other categories.
The finding is an indication that officers are being bogged down in administration.
The report says: “Since the linking of the domestic violence and child protection databases onto common architecture, the number (of referrals to child protection staff) by the end of the year to September 2007 was more than 2,000, which has vastly increased the administration burden, potentially directing staff away from the unit’s core function (of investigating child abuse).
“Each referral is subject to mandatory review to ensure that all issues concerning the involvement of children are captured and risk assessed.
“This process is further magnified by the necessity to examine links made to intelligence reports, which if not carried out could compromise the health and welfare of a potential victim.”
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The National Society for Children and Family Contact (NSCFC) can reveal a recent US survey found that young people “ranked family breakdown and violence as the most pressing issues of their generation. Poverty was third and global warming fourth. Politicians need to note these concerns if they really want young people’s votes. African-American and Latino youths said violence in their neighborhoods was their No. 1 concern while white and Asian youths put the family breakdown at the top.” The findings are remarkable. David Cameron is trying to put family breakdown on the political agenda here in the UK, but the press and media studiously resort to tax cuts, global warming, violence, the NHS, education and – sometimes – poverty as the leading issues. Family breakdown is taboo. The Social Exclusion Unit named eight indicators of deprivation, one of which was family breakdown. The Office for National Statistics publishes neighbourhood figures and indices for seven of these, but omits family breakdown. Relevant information is being suppressed and no one is complaining about it, not even our Bishops, despite the claim of Archbishop Rowan Williams that the C of E will engage more in human issues “in accordance with Christ’s teachings we had hoped and not mans” but alas to date they too have been found wanting by sheer lack of scriptural application and begs the question why is this subject of so little importance to the men of cloth? What will it take for someone to replicate this survey in the UK and rattle a few cages at the SEU and ONS and a bench in the House of Lords, indeed should it be left to the Daily Mail and the Telegraph who stand virtually alone when speaking out on such important issues? 40% of all children in our schools are now from one parent families, only yesterday the Social Services phoned the NSCFC to discuss the crisis this is causing in schools and how best to deal with it. Children need role models yet good wholesome fathers are being removed from their lives at the stroke of a pen after separation or divorce. Schools and society see the effect in dysfunctional youth but really is it no wonder they go off the rails when both politicians and religious leaders alike refuse to address the root cause?
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The British Government yesterday announced that it would be issuing unique ID numbers for all the country’s children, and that local databases of all children would be set up in order to facilitate information sharing between child- (and not so child-) related agencies. The objective, depending on which Government songsheet you happen to be listening to, is either to provide child-centred services better, helping children to “develop their full potential” (Margaret Hodge) or to tackle child abuse more effectively in the wake of the “tragic death of Victoria Climbié” (Charles Clarke).
The second at least provides the jumping-off point for the Government’s Every Child Matters Green Paper, whose introduction (Tony Blair) says that in response to the Climbié enquiry “we are proposing here a range of measures to reform and improve children’s care.” But it’s a jumping-off point that provides an excuse for a characteristic piece of busybodying, with barcoding the lot of them the necessary side-effect.
Victoria Climbié died in February 2000, and her carers were later convicted of murder (a timeline of her case can be found here). Her’s was the latest in a series of cases of child abuse which have exposed the weaknesses of the UK’s social services departments, and communications failures between the agencies involved. Climbié’s injuries prompted a hospital to alert Haringey social services and the police, who between July 1999 and February 2000 failed to take any effective action. During approximately a year in the UK (she came from the Ivory Coast, via France, on a false passport) Climbié did not attend school, a matter which seems not to have been addressed by the authorities involved either.
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This is one in a series of factsheets for parents, teachers and young people entitled Mental Health and Growing Up. The aims of these factsheets are to provide practical, up-to-date information about mental health problems (emotional, behavioural and psychiatric disorders) that can affect children and young people. This factsheet looks at what child abuse is and the harm it can cause, and offers practical help about how to detect it and where to get help.
Child Abuse – Signs and Symptoms
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Although these signs do not necessarily indicate that a child has been abused, they may help adults recognise that something is wrong. The possibility of abuse should be investigated if a child shows a number of these symptoms, or any of them to a marked degree:
Sexual Abuse
Being overly affectionate or knowledgeable in a sexual way inappropriate to the child’s age
Medical problems such as chronic itching, pain in the genitals, venereal diseases
Other extreme reactions, such as depression, self-mutilation, suicide attempts, running away, overdoses, anorexia
Personality changes such as becoming insecure or clinging
Regressing to younger behaviour patterns such as thumb sucking or bringing out discarded cuddly toys
Sudden loss of appetite or compulsive eating
Being isolated or withdrawn
Inability to concentrate
Lack of trust or fear of someone they know well, such as not wanting to be alone with a babysitter or child minder
Starting to wet again, day or night/nightmares
Become worried about clothing being removed
Suddenly drawing sexually explicit pictures
Trying to be ‘ultra-good’ or perfect; overreacting to criticism
Physical Abuse
Unexplained recurrent injuries or burns
Improbable excuses or refusal to explain injuries
Wearing clothes to cover injuries, even in hot weather
Refusal to undress for gym
Bald patches
Chronic running away
Fear of medical help or examination
Self-destructive tendencies
Aggression towards others
Fear of physical contact – shrinking back if touched
Admitting that they are punished, but the punishment is excessive (such as a child being beaten every night to ‘make him study’)
Fear of suspected abuser being contacted
Emotional Abuse
Physical, mental and emotional development lags
Sudden speech disorders
Continual self-depreciation (‘I’m stupid, ugly, worthless, etc’)
Overreaction to mistakes
Extreme fear of any new situation
Inappropriate response to pain (‘I deserve this’)
Neurotic behaviour (rocking, hair twisting, self-mutilation)
Extremes of passivity or aggression
Neglect
Constant hunger
Poor personal hygiene
Constant tiredness
Poor state of clothing
Emaciation
Untreated medical problems
No social relationships
Compulsive scavenging
Destructive tendencies
Note: A child may be subjected to a combination of different kinds of abuse.It is also possible that a child may show no outward signs and hide what is happening from everyone
Suspected Abuse
If you suspect that a child is being abused, seek advice from the police or social services. It is preferable that you identify yourself and give details. However, if you feel unsure and would like to discuss the situation, ring the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Helpline, or the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, or the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. You can speak to these organisations (and the police and social services) anonymously. The numbers are given in this website.
Knowing how damaging abuse is to children, it is up to the adults around them to take responsibility for stopping it.
If a child tells you about abuse:
Stay calm and be reassuring
Find a quiet place to talk
Believe in what you are being told
Listen, but do no press for information
Say that you are glad that the child told you
If it will help the child to cope. say that the abuser has a problem
Say that you will do your best to protect and support the child
If necessary, seek medical help and contact the police or social services
If your child has told another adult, such as a teacher or school nurse, contact them. Their advice may make it easier to help your child
Determine if this incident may affect how your child reacts at school. It may be advisable to liaise with you child’s teacher, school nurse or headteacher
Acknowledge that your child may have angry, sad or even guilty feelings about what happened, but stress that the abuse was not the child’s fault. Acknowledge that you will probably need help dealing with your own feelings
Seek counselling for yourself and your child through the organisations listed on the website Where to Get Help
You may consider using the school as a resource, as the staff should have a network of agencies they work with, and be able to give you advice.
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In early summer 1987, the United Kingdom and the world were rocked by allegations of child sexual abuse occurring in Cleveland, a major industrial conurbation in the North-East of England.
The Cleveland area was mainly comprised of three major towns, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, and Hartlepool, and was administered at that time by a single local authority, Cleveland County Council, which had been formed in 1974. The area has since been divided into four local authorities and the name Cleveland only forms part of one of those councils.
Historically, Middlesbrough only came into existence at the beginning of the 19th century when iron ore was found in the nearby hills and it became a steel-making area, attracting workers from Ireland, Scotland and many other areas of the U.K. and from Eastern European countries such as Poland. Being at the mouth of a major river, the River Tees, the area then began to develop as a shipbuilding centre, and in the early part of the 20th century, petro-chemical industries were introduced and it became one of the largest centres in Europe for chemical and plastic production.
In the 1970s the steel-making, ship-building, and chemical industries went into rapid decline leading to high levels of unemployment which still persist among the mainly working-class population.
In the years leading up to 1987, the incidence of allegations of child sexual abuse for Cleveland was no greater than other parts of the U.K. but in January 1987 the numbers began to escalate rapidly, reaching a peak in May, June, and July. The total referrals to Cleveland Social Services for all forms of child abuse during the period January to July 1987 were 505 referrals compared with only 288 referrals in the equivalent period in the previous year.
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The NSPCC today (8 October 2007) launches the first advice and information line to protect children trafficked to the UK for sexual exploitation, forced labour, drugs transport, benefit fraud, and other crimes. The NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line (CTAIL) on 0800 107 7057 will help people working with children, such as immigration officers, the police, social workers, teachers, and health workers, to better identify and protect child victims. It will also shed light on the scale of child trafficking in the UK. The free service has been set up with funding from the Home Office and Comic Relief. It will run in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT UK). Since 2003 the NSPCC has received referrals of trafficked children to its London-based Streetmatters/Bfree group, which helps sexually exploited girls and young women. A number of trafficked young people who have benefited from the service will help to guide the NSPCC and its partners on the future development of the Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line. A 2007 CEOP study uncovered 330 suspected and confirmed cases of trafficked children in the UK. The report concluded that lack of awareness of trafficking among people working with children and young people suggests the true scale of the problem is much higher. The study also revealed a need for better training and resources on how to identify and protect trafficked children.
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(Emotional intelligence, mental health and juvenile delinquency). Report The report of a study by Hayes and O’Reilly, was presented at an international conference at University College Dublin on 18th May 2007. Researchers interviewed three groups of adolescent males (average age 14.9 years): 30 participants were residing in juvenile detention schools (the offender group), 20 had been referred to an adolescent mental health service in HSE South (the mental health group), and 30 were recruited from a secondary school in County Cork (the control group). They used a number of validated instruments to determine each child’s emotional intelligence and mental well-being, and obtained demographic characteristics and history of offending by means of a questionnaire). The findings show that children in detention schools in Ireland experience very high rates of substance dependence and psychiatric disorder, (Co-morbidity), engage in serious criminal behaviour and have significant deficits in emotional intelligence and cognitive ability. Eight out of ten (83%) of the offender group met diagnostic criteria for at least one psychological disorder, with an average being 3.1 disorders per detainee, which was considerably higher than that in the mental health group. Of the offender group, 18.5% reported experiencing thoughts of suicide, and the same percentage reported that they had attempted to take their own lives on at least one occasion. Over one-third (38%0 met diagnostic criteria for internalising (emotional) disorders such as anxiety and depression, and 68% for externalising (disruptive) disorders such as conduct and attention deficit disorders. Sixty-seven per-cent of the offender group met the criteria for at least one substance-related disorder. Approximately equal numbers reported using cocaine (13/30), alcohol (14/30) and cannabis (14/30). Based on participants’ reports of substance use in the 12 months prior to interview, researchers assigned them to one of three categories: Dependency disorder (those addicted to one or more substances, use disorder (regular users of one or more drugs but who did not have a diagnosis of addiction. One member of the offender group reported not having taken any drugs or alcohol in the previous 12 months. Detainees with substance dependency disorders reported that they first began to use alcohol and cannabis at an average age of just nine year, and cocaine at 13 years. The majority did not receive treatment for psychiatric or substance use problems. Despite incarceration, these boys had continued access to alcohol and drugs, possibly through home leave, during family visits or during court appearances. According to the authors, this continued access to drugs and alcohol served to sustain their dependency and use difficulties.
