Isle of Man young offending recorded steep year-on-year rise

A spike in youth offending could mean the Isle of Man is at risk of "losing a generation" to crime, an MHK has said.

The number of offences committed by people aged under 17 rose to 675 in 2020-21 from 388 the year before.

Daphne Caine MHK said a more "joined-up" approach was needed to tackle antisocial behaviour before it escalated.

Home Affair Minister Graham Cregeen said new Justice Reform Bill would address the issue in future.

Mrs Caine made the comments during a Tynwald debate on the Chief Constable's annual report.

In the document, Gary Roberts said 224 young people had committed criminal offences during the year, with just 16 responsible for 40% of the crimes.

Mrs Caine said the figures represented a "worrying spike" in offending that needed an approach that was "more joined-up in terms of our social policy spanning departments".

"I worry that we are losing a generation and we need to understand why," she added.

Mr Cregeen said forthcoming new laws would reinstate a "multi-agency approach" to dealing with young offending.

"I think that has been missing in the past where it did used to work and then for some reason it dropped out," he added.

Overall crime on the island of rose by 18% during the coronavirus pandemic.

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