CHILDREN as young as five are increasingly being recruited by criminals to break into houses in Nelson Mandela Bay - because the new Child Justice Act makes it difficult for the police to arrest children under the age of 10
While the police are unable to provide precise figures on the problem, Atlas Security officers have since January detained more than 50 minors - all of whom were handed over to police and subsequently released.
One of the latest incidents was reported last Wednesday when two children - aged five and six - were caught inside a house in Charlo.
Atlas operational manager Monty Montgomery said he was "extremely concerned" about children being recruited by criminals to burgle houses.
Montgomery said that on Wednesday afternoon alone he had received seven reports of the same two children trying to break in to houses in the Charlo area.
"All the modus operandi is the same. The entry points into the houses are normally very small - predominantly bathroom windows," he said.
"In some cases older children are used to gain entry to the house and then unlock the doors for their accomplices to assist with the burglary."
Montgomery said it was common to find the children back on the street within two days.
He said recruiters mainly targeted "street kids" within residential suburbs.
The new Child Act was signed into law in May 2009, with the aim of diverting children under the age of 18 away from the mainstream criminal justice system.
In terms of the Act a child cannot be arrested for a Schedule 1 offence - like burglary or theft - unless there are compelling reasons.
These reasons include the child not having a fixed residential address, if there is reason to believe the child will continue to commit offences or if the officer has reason to believe the child poses a danger.
However, the Act does allow for the arrest of children involved in serious offences, such as murder, robbery, rape, other sexual offence and vehicle theft.
Frustrated police officers in the field say most children will not admit to having been recruited, "for fear of reprisals from the criminals they work for".
Veteran crime fighting activist John Preller - who has recently helped launch a programme to get street children back into school and off the streets - said the problem of children being recruited by gangs to break into houses had become a dire problem, especially in recent months.
Lulamile Faltein - the social development manager at Nerina House, a child detention centre in Port Elizabeth that deals solely with children who are in conflict with the law - confirmed there had been a "large" decrease in minors being arrested since the new Act came in effect.
"One of the problems is that police officers are not educated in terms of the new Act," he said.
"In the event of a child under 10 years old being caught, the officers should take the minor to their legal guardian who then signs documents informing them that the child has been caught committing a crime.
"Thereafter the form is handed to a social worker who will assess the circumstances and attempt to help the child get back on track. This is a long process but we need the police to fill in the documents so we can take action from our side.
"We are conducting various programmes and meeting with the police to educate them on the system."
Criminals 'recruit' children
CHILDREN as young as five are increasingly being recruited by criminals to break into houses in Nelson Mandela Bay - because the new Child Justice Act makes it difficult for the police to arrest children under the age of 10
While the police are unable to provide precise figures on the problem, Atlas Security officers have since January detained more than 50 minors - all of whom were handed over to police and subsequently released.
One of the latest incidents was reported last Wednesday when two children - aged five and six - were caught inside a house in Charlo.
Atlas operational manager Monty Montgomery said he was "extremely concerned" about children being recruited by criminals to burgle houses.
Montgomery said that on Wednesday afternoon alone he had received seven reports of the same two children trying to break in to houses in the Charlo area.
"All the modus operandi is the same. The entry points into the houses are normally very small - predominantly bathroom windows," he said.
"In some cases older children are used to gain entry to the house and then unlock the doors for their accomplices to assist with the burglary."
Montgomery said it was common to find the children back on the street within two days.
He said recruiters mainly targeted "street kids" within residential suburbs.
The new Child Act was signed into law in May 2009, with the aim of diverting children under the age of 18 away from the mainstream criminal justice system.
In terms of the Act a child cannot be arrested for a Schedule 1 offence - like burglary or theft - unless there are compelling reasons.
These reasons include the child not having a fixed residential address, if there is reason to believe the child will continue to commit offences or if the officer has reason to believe the child poses a danger.
However, the Act does allow for the arrest of children involved in serious offences, such as murder, robbery, rape, other sexual offence and vehicle theft.
Frustrated police officers in the field say most children will not admit to having been recruited, "for fear of reprisals from the criminals they work for".
Veteran crime fighting activist John Preller - who has recently helped launch a programme to get street children back into school and off the streets - said the problem of children being recruited by gangs to break into houses had become a dire problem, especially in recent months.
Lulamile Faltein - the social development manager at Nerina House, a child detention centre in Port Elizabeth that deals solely with children who are in conflict with the law - confirmed there had been a "large" decrease in minors being arrested since the new Act came in effect.
"One of the problems is that police officers are not educated in terms of the new Act," he said.
"In the event of a child under 10 years old being caught, the officers should take the minor to their legal guardian who then signs documents informing them that the child has been caught committing a crime.
"Thereafter the form is handed to a social worker who will assess the circumstances and attempt to help the child get back on track. This is a long process but we need the police to fill in the documents so we can take action from our side.
"We are conducting various programmes and meeting with the police to educate them on the system."
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