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Problem kids spark mini crime-waves
Peter Devine14/11/2007
MP Ann Coffey has accused local authorities of failing to monitor children's care homes and says they are "exporting" villainous thugs into Stockport.
According to the town MP, youngsters being brought into care in Stockport from outside the borough have created mini-crime waves, with one youngster being responsible for up to 89 offences.
An inspection by Ofsted failed to pick up on the 89 offences because the care home in question where he was staying failed to report the true picture to them. In another instance the locality surrounding one three-bedded children’s home in Stockport, which had taken offenders from Liverpool, was hit with a swift rise in burglary, car thefts and criminal damage.
Ms Coffey who was speaking in the House of Commons during a debate on a parliamentary bill aimed at improving services for vulnerable and young people said a Stockport children’s home owner was leafleting local authorities across the north west "to send their persistent and schedule one (most persistant) offenders" to him.
Owners, she said, were attracted by huge price tags of up to £4,000 a week for just one problem child, but it was ultimately Stockport Council and the local police who had to pay not only for tackling repeat offending and runaways but also for their education and health.
She said: "In Stockport we have about 225 children placed from other boroughs and have 17 percent of all children’s homes within Greater Manchester. Fifty three percent of all looked-after children in Stockport are from out of the borough compared to a national average of 35 percent throughout the country.
"My concern is that in some parts of the country local authorities are not heeding this government advice and that children, especially those with complex behavioural problems, are being ‘exported’ from one borough to another."
"Whilst most homes offer a good, if not excellent, service there are, as there are in any industry, ‘rogue traders’.
"In Stockport we have seen the very profitable development of a market in importing prolific and priority offenders from other boroughs. Ultimately, the problem is that the care provided by these homes does not seem to manage or stabilise the behaviour of those young people."
Ms Coffey said this sort of influx experienced by Stockport could breach government guidelines, as the advice is that children should be placed as near to home as possible, except in exceptional circumstances.
Councillor Mark Weldon, executive member for children and young people said: "The Council and our partners the police welcome Ann Coffey’s bid to get this issue raised nationally. There is a hidden cost to Stockport for the large number of children placed within the borough.
"Despite challenges like this, crime is still falling faster in Stockport than anywhere else in Greater Manchester.
"We need to remember that the majority of homes in Stockport do not have offenders and are very well run. However, in cases where young offenders are placed in Stockport, the Council needs to be satisfied that the supervision of those offenders by the children's home is of paramount importance.
"Moreover we fail to see why Stockport’s Youth Offending team should ‘caretake’ the supervision of that offender on behalf of the placing authority. Stockport Council agrees with Ms Coffey and would like to see a situation where funding to meet children's needs follows the child irrespective of where they are placed."
Most recent 2 of 4 user comments
30/11/2007 at 15:12
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Additional to the liability these imported delinquents are to the Town, how do they affect the impressionable home grow children? I think it commonly known that it is easier to turn a good disadvantage child bad than it is to turn a bad one good.
This is interesting, though, where A Coffey Esq (ess) says that Home owners receive "up to £4,000 a week for just one problem child". Presumably that would be paid for by Liverpool for a Scouser scally? Has this got parallels with importing nuclear and toxic waste for processing at profit?
Roy G
Exiled in Somerset
2/01/2008 at 16:50