Housebreaking, drugs crime up despite fall in youth offences

The number of school-aged children committing crime in Tayside has dropped for the fourth consecutive year.

Figures from Tayside Police reveal that 2937 offences, not including traffic cases, were carried out by under-16s last year almost a 20% fall on 2009, when the figure was 3629.

Males account for the majority, with 2198; however the statistics reveal one case of attempted murder by a 15-year-old girl.

Despite overall offences dropping there was a rise in youngsters caught with drugs-with four girls detected, two of whom were aged just 13, and 30 boys.

The findings relate to the number of under-16s who were detected for offences, not the number of actual offences, with some crimes carried out by more than one individual.

Shoplifting again attracted the youngest cases, with 12 seven-year-old girls caught by officers.

Females have by far the worse record of shoplifting, with almost 250 cases compared with 151 males.

Meanwhile, housebreaking among males and female went up to 35 and four respectively.