Many child offenders known to gardaí before age of 12

HUNDREDS of people sentenced in the Children’s Court have been known to the gardaí since before the age of 12, a Department of Justice report has found.

The sample study of 50 children whose cases were dealt with last year found 20 first came into contact with gardaí at this early stage. The Dublin Children Court finalised the cases of more than 750 juveniles last year.

The findings suggest interventions need to take place at a very young age to be effective, the State-funded report by the Irish Association for the Study of Delinquency said.

Of the 551 charges faced, theft and robbery made up almost one-third, 23% were public order offences, 18% were traffic offences and 10% related to criminal damage.

Nine offenders were sent to detention schools, nine were committed to St Patrick’s Institution and 18 received non-custodial sentences.

The report found educational disadvantage was a significant problem for young people appearing before the Children’s Court.

Of 34 teenagers whose educational background was available, nine had not completed primary school and 19 had left school before the legal age of 16.

More than a dozen children had literacy problems, including four aged from 11 to 15 with a reading age of six.