Persistent anti-social behaviour leads to conviction for 14-year-old boy

A 14-year-old boy has today (31 May) been sentenced to two months in custody following repeated breaches of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) he had been given for a violent offence earlier in the year.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons but is from the Lincoln area, had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence in March following an affray in High Street, Lincoln where he was seen to produce a knife and make repeated attempts to strike another youth.

He admitted the offence at a hearing at Lincoln Youth Court in April, and was given a 12 month CBO by the court on 3 May. A CBO is a civil order designed to tackle the most serious and persistent anti-social individuals where their behaviour has brought them before a criminal court. Breaches are criminal offences.

The order placed enforceable rules on where he could and could not go, and who he could associate with.

He was arrested five times for breaching the conditions of the CBO since it was issued, including associating with people he is prohibited from spending time with, and entering parts of Lincoln the order states he must avoid. Further hearing over the breaches also saw him given an electronic GPS tag to trace his movements.

The latest breach happened yesterday, where he was arrested for being in the company of a person he was barred from associating with, and brought before the court today.

Now, a district judge at Lincoln Youth Court has given him a two-month custodial sentence to begin immediately.  

The boy’s CBO and its conditions will remain in place when he is released, and we will proactively check that he is adhering to the conditions.

The CBO was the result of proactive work between the Lincoln Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), anti-social behaviour officers, and the City of Lincoln Council, working with businesses and the community to compile evidence and testimony outlining the harm being caused by the anti-social behaviour. We continue work of this nature across all of our communities year round to keep the public safe.