Parents must pay for their children's crimes, says judge

Judge Richard Bray spoke out as he ordered the parents of two girls who took part in a violent street robbery to pay the victim compensation.

Danielle Healey, 15, and 16-year-old Sabrina Gemmell, were among a gang of four teenagers who attacked a 15-year-old boy.

Sentencing the four at Northampton Crown Court, Judge Bray said of the case: "What is plain is that, sadly, parental supervision was not being exercised - at 11pm, drunk and involved in violence and robbery.

"It's been a positive feature today, the attendance of parents and some acknowledgement of responsibility of what happened.

"Some would say that what lies at the heart of violence and disorder in young people today is a lack of responsibility at the heart of a family."

The court heard Brandon Rourke, 16, and Kieran Hall, 17, headbutted, punched and kicked Craig Haggan in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, after demanding cigarettes and his mobile phone.

As he lay at their feet, the girls searched his pockets. The gang stopped only when a passer-by intervened.

The girls, both from Wellingborough, were each given a 12-month supervision order and their parents were ordered to pay £200 compensation.

Rourke, of Northampton, and Hall, from Wellingborough, were given ten-month detention and training orders. All admitted robbery.

Rourke was a habitual shoplifter who had breached bail after his arrest and escaped when officers tried to arrest him. He was sent to a secure training centre for eight months for escaping lawful custody, which will run consecutively with yesterday's sentence.

Judge Bray's views come in the wake of controversy over drink-fuelled teenage violence. At the weekend, Cheshire Chief Constable Peter Fahy called for the drinking age to be raised to 21 and a crackdown on drinking in public after father-ofthree Garry Newlove was kicked to death by a teenage mob outside his Warrington home.