Ten-year-old rapists arrested as child crimewave sweeps the UK – here’s the area with nation’s worst young offenders
MORE than 75,000 kids have been arrested for crimes including murder, rape and possessing child abuse images, The Sun can reveal.
Among our shocking findings are two 10-year-old rapists from Kent and Lancs and a girl, 12, arrested for murder in Cambs.
In Surrey, two 10 to 15-year-olds were cuffed for kidnap, five for possessing child abuse images, two busted with loaded guns and 61 stole vehicles.
One of the most appalling cases uncovered by The Sun is a 12-year-old serial sex offender from Kent.
The child - arrested twice for assault and once for robbery - raped a boy younger than 13 before engaging in sexual activity on three other occasions with different kids.
West Mercia Police arrested 19 under-16s for murder in the last five years, including: one aged 12; two aged 13; and four 14-year-old boys - a girl, 15, was also arrested.
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The force, which covers Heref, Shrop & Worcs, also cuffed a boy, 10, for battering a police officer - a lad the same age was arrested for the same crime by Wilts cops last year.
The figures, obtained via Freedom of Information request to every police force in England, Wales and N Ireland, run from March 1, 2018, to March 1, 2023 and refer to kids aged 15 and under.
They reveal North Wales as one of the worst areas for ultra-young offenders, with 285 10-13 year-olds arrested in just five years - that's more than one a week.
That was closely followed by Teeside's Cleveland Police, who arrested 48 kids aged just 10 and 11 in the same period.
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That group includes a boy, 11, who raped a lad under-13; a 10-year-old hostage taker and an arsonist, 11, - 31 of the 48 have since reoffended.
Up in Cumbria, ten under-16s were arrested for their role in a complex fraud operation that stretched from lottery and dating scams to loan fraud and bogus holiday lets.
Derbyshire Constabulary arrested four children for murder and dealt with three bomb hoaxes masterminded by nippers as young as ten.
Meanwhile West Yorks - whose cities include Bradford and Leeds - holds some of the most aggressive 10-year-olds in Britain, with 13 cuffed for violence against others.
West Midlands Police arrested 7,302 under-15s for 16,148 offences.
Among the group is one aged 12; two aged 13; and 11 boys aged 14 who were arrested for murder.
The figures also reveal Essex Police made a huge 7,241 arrests of 3,763 under-16's in five years - 503 arrests were for weapon and firearms offences.
In neighbouring Suffolk, two were arrested for attempted murder, the same as next door Norfolk - both counties had two abduction arrests each.
Possessing indecent images of children, heroin, and robbery were also among the sickening reasons kids were cuffed.
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That includes a nine-year-old taken into custody for their role in a Lancashire robbery.
In the West Country, six under-16's were caught drink driving through Avon and Somerset Police's jurisdiction.
The same area saw one child cuffed for sexual activity with a family member.
But the best behaved kids appear to hail from Devon & Cornwall where cops claim to have only arrested 23 under-16s in five years.
In total, there were 75,059 arrests on under-15s in the last five years - these include youngsters arrested more than once.
Not all police forces were able to provide figures meaning the real numbers will be much higher.
The statistics reveal that the vast majority of arrests were made on boys rather than girls.
Because it is not usually in the public interest to criminalise children, those kids arrested for some of the most serious crimes had no further action taken against them.
The law provides services to support children who commit such heinous crimes as murder and child rape.
A Home Office spokesperson told The Sun: "We are determined to tackle the underlying causes of serious youth crime.
"We do this through a twin-track approach, combining tough enforcement measures with early intervention and prevention programmes to divert young people away from crime.
"This includes our £200 million Youth Endowment Fund which aims to give young people most at risk the opportunity to turn away from violence."
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The Minister for Children, Claire Coutinho, was unavailable for comment when approached by The Sun.
Scroll through the table to see how many child criminals are in your area.
Child criminals in YOUR area
Stand out cases from each police force between 2018 - 2023
Avon and Somerset Police - 2,320 arrests. Three under-15s arrested for murdering a baby aged one or older. 116 arrests for sexual offences including one child cuffed for sexual activity with a family member.
Bedfordshire Police - 113 arrests. One 11-year-old male. Three arrested for sexual offences (data only available in 2018)
Cambridgeshire Constabulary - 1,700 arrests. Including girl, 12, arrested for murder but never charged. Boy, 12, arrested for raping boy younger than 13.
Cheshire Constabulary - No data
City of London Police - No data
Cleveland Police - 2,031 arrests including: boy, 11, who raped a boy under-13, a hostage taker, 10 and arsonist, 11. There were 42 rapes carried out by boys on children 0-16.
Cumbria Constabulary - 1,331 arrests including 10 youngsters involved in a complex fraud operation stretching from lottery and dating scams to loan fraud and bogus holiday lets.
Derbyshire Constabulary - 3,108 youngsters arrested for 5,341 crimes. 15 10-yr-olds, 31 11-year-olds, 288 13-yr-olds, 639 14-yr-olds. Four arrested for murder and 17 arsonists, three bomb hoax arrests.
Devon and Cornwall Police - Only 23 arrests
Dorset Police - Partly included in above data - no data of their own
Durham Constabulary - 507 arrests (data from 2007 - 2012)
Dyfed-Powys Police - No data
Essex Police - 7,241 arrests of 3,763 kids. 234 for sexual offences. 503 weapon and firearm offences. Seven 10-yr-olds, 35 11-yr-olds, 189 12yr-olds.
Gloucestershire Constabulary - 880 under-16 arrests of 504 individuals, including 24 rapists and four cuffed for murder.
Greater Manchester Police - No data
Gwent Police - 3,417 arrests. Worst: 53 rapists younger than 16. 69 arrested for driving offences.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary - No data
Hertfordshire Constabulary - No data
Humberside Police - No data
Kent Police - 3,062 arrests, 496 reoffended. 119 arrests for rape including one 10-year-old. Also: Arsonist, 10, and child same age arrested for racist attack.
Lancashire Constabulary - 5,340 arrests including 10-year-old who raped a kid younger than 13 and three nine-year-olds arrested for assault, robbery and criminal damage.
Leicestershire Police - No data
Lincolnshire Police - No data
Merseyside Police - 5,399 arrests including 120 arrests for sexual offences.
Metropolitan Police Service - No data
Ministry of Defence Police - Six arrests. MoD Police provide armed security and counter terrorism at high risk areas and on MoD property.
Norfolk & Suffolk Constabulary - 3,895 arrests. These include 17 ten-year-olds. Two in Suffolk arrested for money laundering.
North Wales Police - 2,047 arrests in period. Five ten-year-olds, 13 11-year-olds, 75 12-year-olds, 192 13-year-olds.
Northamptonshire Police - 1,511 individuals arrested including 50 12-year-olds. 450 repeat offenders.
Northumbria Police - No data
North Yorkshire Police - No data
Nottinghamshire Police - 2,104 arrests including murder, immigration and weapons offences.
Police Service of Northern Ireland - 3,732 arrests including 10-year-old male hostage taker.
Police Scotland - No data
South Wales Police - No data
South Yorkshire Police - No data
Staffordshire Police - No data
Surrey Police - 1,305 individuals arrested, including 13 under-15s who raped girls under 13, and five who raped boys younger than 13. Five arrested for possessing child abuse images.
Sussex Police - No data
Thames Valley Police - No data
Warwickshire Police - No data
West Mercia Police - 1,578 arrests including boy, 11, who raped lad under 13; 19 under-15s arrested for murder including one 12 and two 13-year-old boys.
West Midlands Police - 7,302 custody records of 16,148 offences. They include one 12-year-old, two 13-year-olds and eleven 14-year-olds - all boys - arrested for murder.
West Yorkshire Police - 11,605 arrests of 5,707 individuals. Some of the most aggressive 10-year-olds in UK - 13 cuffed for violence against others.
Wiltshire Police - 1,269 individuals - 2476 arrests - Worst was a 14-year-old boy charged with murder in 2022.
