Morgan says that the problem emanates from police targets for crime detection set by the Home Office, which are completely unrelated to the seriousness of the offence, so it's easier for officers to notch up points by tackling low-level crime.

One police constable seems to confirm Morgan's concerns. He tells The Insider that officers are now keen to deal with young people who commit minor crimes in a formal way in order to help them reach their targets. The targets are linked to annual bonuses, so these financial incentives seem to be encouraging officers to give the kids a criminal record rather than dealing with them informally, by giving them a talking-to in front of their parents, for example.

And even worse, the police constable claims that some officers could be tackling more minor crimes instead of investigating more serious offences, in order to reach their targets. He tells the programme that in some deprived areas, despite the police having intelligence about people involved with potential firearms offences, officers do not take any action because it would require a serious investment of police resources but wouldn't generate as many results to help them reach their targets.

In the last four years, the number of sentences passed in English and Welsh youth courts has increased by around a quarter. John Fassenfelt, Chief Representative of more than 8,000 youth court magistrates, tells the programme that he's seen young people in court for stealing a small chocolate bar or fighting in the playground. Once a child has been convicted of an offence in court, he or she automatically goes to court for every subsequent offence they're charged with, no matter how trivial. If they're sentenced on three occasions and then arrested again within 3 years, they'll be categorised as a Persistent Young Offender.

Several youths claim that they are stopped three or four times a day since being labelled as Persistent Young Offenders and arrested for crimes they haven't committed, just because of their label. A boy of just 11 claims he was locked up for three days in a cell on his own. They say this encourages them to carry on committing offences as they are being regarded as criminals. Morgan argues that this kind of police targeting is tantamount to child abuse.

However, in South Wales the police and youth justice teams take a different approach, which has achieved good results in cutting crime. Barbara Wilding, Chief Constable of South Wales, tells The Insider that her force deals with low level crime committed by young people in a more informal way, because she's more able to ignore politically imposed targets than some of her fellow Chief Constables who are newer in post and on a bonus scheme.

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