Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 29, 1994                   TAG: 9411290119
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ELLAND, ENGLAND                                LENGTH: Medium

ONLY AGE 14, AND ALREADY 88 ARRESTS AND 130 CONVICTIONS

Since age 8 when he already was notorious for stealing candy, he has been arrested 88 times and convicted of 130 crimes, all within 11/2 miles of his home, courts and police say.

``He ought to be hung,'' Jackie Smith said of the boy, who began stealing from her newsstand at age 7. ``I just want to get my hands around his neck and squeeze the life out of him.''

Smith's shop suffered $7,800 in damage from three break-ins last fall. She has since had to pay for surveillance cameras, mirrors and metal shutters to keep her insurance.

``I would pay for stocks on the precinct [town square] and leave him there with his pants down for a week,'' said Annette Ford, who had to shell out for more security devices and higher insurance premiums for her florist shop.

The one-boy crime wave rolls on because the courts are unable to lock up one so young. The boy is often ordered to go to a supervised youth center or perform community service.

The teen-ager, who cannot be named under a British law protecting children, promised last week to go straight.

``I'm nearly 15 and I'm old enough to go to prison,'' the boy told journalists in Elland, a struggling textile mill town between the Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales, 175 miles northwest of London.

Asked why he commits crimes, he said, ``Nowt [nothing] to do, not much pocket money.''

Not even his own parents believe he will improve.

``We've tried, obviously, hitting him, if you like. We tried that, that didn't work, that made him more angry. We tried locking him in his room. We even screwed the windows shut,'' his father told journalists.

``It's easy to blame parents. When you've done everything, you rely on the law,'' he said.

But the law hasn't worked. Except in extraordinary cases, children younger than 15 cannot be locked up in secure units.

In January, a new law will permit judges to lock up persistent offenders as young as 12 in centers which will provide training and education.

Nearly half the crime in Britain is committed by people under 21, at a cost of more than $11 billion a year, according to a study released in September by a charity headed by Prince Charles.

The 80-member Elland League of Trade, Industry and Commerce reported a 160 percent increase in burglaries and a 118 percent increase in property damage in the first nine months of the year. The council said the 14-year-old was convicted in more than half of those crimes.

With male unemployment three points above the national average of 13.5 percent, this town of 18,000 has enough problems. Its hopes are staked on plans for an industrial park, backed by a government grant of $17 million.

``Potential investors could create 2,000 jobs here, but then they come and see what's happened to the place, with shops boarded up and shutters everywhere and they'll be reluctant to invest,'' said Jackie Rourke, chairwoman of the business league. Rourke moved her design business to another town after several break-ins.

``The people who live and work in the town can't afford to do business there anymore,'' Rourke said. ``The knock-on effect of one young boy's nights of fun is having serious consequences for the town. He's obviously got problems and needs help, but I think he should have help while in custody.''