Children committing first crime at just 11

Disturbing evidence of the extent of youth crime in London is revealed today.

Research obtained by the Evening Standard shows pupils in the capital are turning to crime at a younger age than anywhere in Britain - but are the least likely to be caught and punished.

New figures have shown how:

In the past few years London has witnessed a series of appalling youth crimes, including the murder of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor on a Peckham estate in 2000.

Home Office figures last month revealed that one in four teenage boys have become serious or prolific offenders by the age of 17.

Senior figures in the judiciary today told the Standard the real concern is that lower-level crime is becoming accepted as "normal behaviour" among adolescents.

James Smith, the Met's Commander of Youth Justice, said: "The biggest concern is youth street crime. Children are getting involved at a young age."

The research comes after the Standard revealed curfews have been introduced across London to tackle teenage crime, creating no-go zones in three quarters of boroughs.

The new figures come from the Youth Justice Board which questioned 4,715 secondary school pupils across England and Wales, and a further 687 excluded children, for its 2004 Youth Survey.

The data shows that the peak age of offending is 14, but London children aged under 11 are offending more than anywhere else in the UK. Detection rates for youth crimes in London show that only 16 per cent of offenders in the past 12 months were caught. The national average is 25 per cent. The survey also reveals how nearly half of young people excluded from school carry a weapon, and 25 per cent have carried a knife.

The report said that the younger a person is when they first offend, the more serious the offences they are likely to commit in the future.

Latest figures from Scotland Yard show a 19 per cent drop in street robberies by adults, but mugging by juveniles has gone up five per cent.

It is estimated that teenage criminals commit 700,000 recorded crimes in London every year, but just 30,000 cases a year come before the courts. One in six are violent offences. Police are now focused on stopping criminal careers before they start - through early intervention.

Almost 150 officers have been placed within secondary schools and 80 more are working with youth offending teams in every London borough with nine schools in Tower Hamlets having their own inschool policemen.

David Simpson, district judge at West London Youth Courts, said: "It seems like crime is becoming normal behaviour for an adolescent."

Judges are now striving to find alternatives to prison.

The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes (ISSPs) - launched four years ago - deal with some of the most prolific offenders by creating a tailor-made six-month programme.

This can include tagging, curfews, re-introduction to education, community work and finding a new path in life - such as sport.

Eighty-five per cent of ISSP juveniles still reoffend within a year, but for police and the judiciary it remains a better option than jail. Mr Simpson said: "If you have to lock them up you have probably failed. But an ISSP can provide a structure for children's lives where before there was none."