CHILDREN as young as two have been linked to crimes across the district, it has been revealed.

Sex, drugs and robbery offences are among those connected with youngsters under the age of ten in Bradford district during the past three years.

In law, children under ten cannot be culpable for crime.

This week, the NSPCC called for youngsters who have committed offences to be given support to change their behaviour.

And the charity believes the age of criminal responsibility should be raised to at least 12.

West Yorkshire Police say that if a person is knowingly under the age of criminal responsibility, officers would not necessarily arrest or detain them.

"When we deal with a child for a criminal offence before we consider arrest we must really question the need to arrest and consider if there are any other alternatives rather than custody," said a spokesman.

"Children brought into custody are in a particularly vulnerable position; not only by the virtue of their age, but also because of the circumstances which brought them into contact with the police.

"They may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, recovering from recent trauma or coming to terms with events that may have lasting impact on their lives.

"Judged even against the reduced capability of a child, they will not be in a strong position to cope with the stressful and demanding nature of being in custody especially overnight."

The spokesman said that when an arrest is made and a young person is taken into custody, the length of time they are detained is kept to a minimum.

Any child in these circumstances would then be referred through to social services and also the Youth Offending Team for support.

He added: "It is important to note that nominal records linked to offences with these criteria cannot necessarily be said to be offenders, or that any action could/would have been taken against that individual had they been of the age of criminal responsibility. It signifies only that the individual featured in the investigation."

The NSPCC says that children aged ten are “unlikely to understand the consequences of their actions or be able to effectively participate in criminal proceedings”.

A spokesman said: “The NSPCC believes the current age of criminal responsibility should be raised to at least 12 in England. Robust action outside the youth justice system to deal with child offenders aged ten and 11 would serve justice more effectively and better prevent future crime.”

Councillor Abdul Jabar, Bradford Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and community safety, said: “No one can fail to be concerned to see such young children on this list.

“The police are in charge of enforcing the law quite rightly but there is also work to do in trying to prevent crimes taking place in the first place.

“We have a strong partnership with the police, schools and other agencies. The council works with the police to put Safer School officers in place to work in our schools promoting the importance of being a responsible citizen to children and young people but clearly there is still work to do.”

MP Philip Davies, whose Shipley constituency includes Cullingworth and Denholme, said the issue of children committing crime was “something we should all be concerned about” and said the notion of a two-year-old being a ‘suspect’ seemed like a “nonsense”.

However, he said: “It would be a concern if people were starting a path of criminal behaviour at a very young age.”

Mr Davies said such crimes needed to be looked at on a case by case basis, but said he would not want to see the age of criminal responsibility to be higher.