Record number of Aussie kids arrested on weapons charges in 2015: statistics
Xinhua, April 5, 2016 Adjust font size:
A record number of Australian children were charged with weapons and explosives offences in 2015, according to statistics released on Tuesday.
Victoria's Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) showed that 116 children between the ages of 10 and 14 were arrested or summonsed on weapons charges in 2015, an all-time record in Victoria, and a figure up from 79 in 2014.
The statistics also showed that 768 teenagers were arrested on similar offences, and shadow attorney-general John Pesutto said the figures had caused a stir in law enforcement circles.
He said children needed to be better educated about the risks and dangers of carrying weapons such as knives, guns or even explosives.
"Weapons possession and weapons use amongst children appears to be growing, and that is alarming, whether it's guns, knives, explosives or other various dangerous items or substances," Pesutto told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Tuesday.
The CSA data also showed the number of firearms offences across all age groups was also up 15 percent to 4,791 in 2015, up from 4,143 recorded offences in 2014.
Meanwhile prohibited and controlled weapon offences were up more than 18 percent between the two years, but the number of explosives offences dropped by 0.6 percent. Endit