"Artful Dodger" Thief is an 8-Year-Old Boy!

Well, good thing the kid isn't in Texas. They'd probably have him on death row.

This is why Doctor Horrible should be in charge...
Okay, sorry, just kidding. Truthfully, children have been taught to be skilled thieves for centuries, but I still agree that someone under 10 should be held responsible for such actions.

But someone under 10 should be taken into custody and counseled before this becomes his whole life. A kid this smart needs to be show a better path before he thinks this is all he is good at.

I agree very much with CelticCatEyes. There are children all over the world who become skilled thievs and perform other criminal acts. If you're an adult looking to reach into the pockets of socitey by stealing, what other way then to send your kid out there. Someone other than this child is responsible for these acts, but if an adult can be held responsible for stealing, why not send your kid out there? I mean he's only 10, whats the worst that can happen?? In the case that a child cannot be charged as an adult, an alternative punishement would be to send the little bugger into a counseling program that puts him on a better path and gets him out of the habit of stealing or whatever crime he or she intends to commit. I say stop it now before it gets too late and the little guy is all of a sudden 25 and is in jail because he didint have the chance to know any better his whole life.

10 years? Here it's 15.

Surely they could prosecute anyone telling him to steal? That's why you don't see kids stealing stuff everywhere, telling someone else to do it gives the same punishment as if you did it yourself.

do they not have foster care in england? it is obviously the adults in his life that are putting him on this path.

Oh, don't worry, just 'cos he can't be prosecuted doesn't mean he'll just walk away when he's caught. If it's his parentes behind it (and it's hard to see how it wouldn't be, at least tacitly) then he'll either end up in care or there will be some heavy duty intervention.

Of course - stories of it all going wrong and being mishandled abound, but in reality for the most part it works, which is probably all any society can claim.

Oh, and yes, the people behind it will get done for ading and abetting, incititement, child neglect and half a dozen other things up to and including not having a TV license.

Hmm how about making him do charity work until he repays what he stole? Along with his parents for not teaching him that stealing people's things is wrong.

sw - That's what I was going to say. Obviously something is going on at home to encourage this behavior. However, I remember seeing a program about child theives and pretty much the police officers tell them "Don't do that again" and send them off on their way.