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School boy, 11, is ‘ringleader’ of crime gang that’s been terrorising Blackpool
The young ringleader reportedly assaulted a female police officer
An eleven-year-old school boy is the ‘ringleader’ of a crime gang responsible for over eighty offences in Blackpool, MPs have heard this week.
Scott Benton, the Conservative MP for Blackpool South, claimed a gang of teenagers had been committing ‘hundreds of crimes’ in the Talbot and Brunswick areas of the seaside town in the last couple of weeks.
Benton said this gang has been led by the eleven-year-old ‘ringleader’, who has been responsible for countless offences, including the assault of a female police officer.
Benton brought the problem for debate in the House of Commons this week, where he called for a change in the laws surrounding the criminalisation of children.
He told the Commons, saying: “Residents in the Talbot and Brunswick area of Blackpool have been plagued by anti-social behaviour in recent weeks, with hundreds of different crimes being committed by a gang of teenagers.
“The ringleader is an eleven-year-old boy who has been responsible for over eighty different offences, including assaulting a female police officer.
“Sadly the efforts of Lancashire Police to bring him to justice have been compromised by Blackpool Council’s children’s directorate, who refuse to criminalise teenagers.
“Can we have a debate in this House regarding anti-social behaviour, the misery it causes to communities and whether the police have the appropriate powers to tackle these problems?”
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt responded: “I’m so sorry that his community are suffering from this series of anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.
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“He will know that it takes a team of people to redress this situation, it’s about education, it’s about the local authority, it’s about a good policing approach and I think this will be an excellent topic for a debate, and I’d encourage him to apply for it in the usual way.”
However, Blackpool Council described Benton’s comments as ‘uninformed’ and ‘unhelpful’, adding that the number of crimes in the area had dropped, although ‘some serious and impactful issues remain’.
The council said it was ‘completely untrue’ to suggest that there had been ‘any interference from children’s social care in the work of the police to address criminal acts or youth anti-social behaviour.’
A spokesperson said: “The Youth Justice Partnership in Blackpool rightly takes a ‘child first’ approach to anti-social behaviour among children, but this does not mean that offending is taken lightly.”