Parents could face PRISON or lose benefits over children’s crimes in new crackdown, says minister

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PARENTS could face time behind bars or lose benefits for their children’s crimes in a new crackdown, a government minister has said.

Jake Richards said parents should be “held to account” and urged them to do more when it comes to keeping their children out of trouble.

The justice minister’s comments come after a published in May called on increasing the use of Parenting Orders.

It was prompted by the first Southport inquiry report which found the parents of killer Axel Rudakubana could have acted sooner to prevent the tragedy.

Parenting orders can compel parents or guardians to attend counselling sessions or face penalties including fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to control their children’s behaviour.

But ministers are considering proposals to increase the maximum fine, cutting or even jailing parents in the most “extreme cases”, reports The Times .

Mr Richards told outlet that it would form part of a new “carrot-and-stick approach” in a bid to crackdown on youth offenders.

“I absolutely think that the justice system should hold parents to account in a proportionate way for ensuring that they play their role in keeping communities safe,” he said.

He added” “Parenting orders are going to make sure that parents are more involved in the process by which we try to turn around young offenders.

“Yes, that will have some stick. It could be custodial, or docking benefits — ultimately it will be up to a judge. But we want them to be more involved and that comes with responsibilities as well.”

The move comes after the use of Parenting Orders declined dramatically, from more than 1,000 in 2009/10 to just 33 in 2022/23.

Currently, consider a Parenting Order where a child under 16 has been convicted of an offence.

The orders can also be applied to children aged 16 and 17 if lawmakers believe it will prevent them from committing further crimes.

In July, the Bar Council recommended increasing the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.

The report also highlighted how the minimum age had “remained unchanged for 60 years” despite “profound shifts” in developmental neuroscience and psychology.

The has also called for the age to rise to 14-years-old, highlighting how the UK’s age of criminal responsibility ranks as one of the lowest in the world.

But Richards hit back, saying raising the age of criminal responsibility would undermine “public faith in the justice system”.

He added that it was “not a priority at all”.

Ministers visited No 10 North on Thursday to discuss how devolution could help reform youth justice.

The government said in May they were considering a number of new proposals with the then Justice Secretary, David Lammy, saying he hoped it would prevent kids from starting out on a life of crime.