In a special report published last year, the M.E.N looked at the story of a sixteen-strong gang of boys as young as 13 who found themselves in court over a series of violent robberies in Manchester.
They had all met through the Pupil Referral System (PRU) - schools that provide education for children excluded from mainstream secondaries.By the time they were arrested, many were barely attending school at all.The care system is also a common thread among children who commit crime.In fact, care leavers account for around a quarter of the entire adult prison population, even though less than 1 per cent of under 18s enter local authority care each year.Supt Downey says his unit's work in the last eighteen months has given authorities a.
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