In Liverpool, where last month 11-year-old Rhys Jones was killed in Croxteth as he played football, children as young as five are being given lessons by the local police on the dangers of guns.
Kitted out in full bullet-proof armour and carrying their own guns, officers from the Merseyside Police anti-gang and gun Matrix team have been delivering short, role play-based sessions in primary schools, warning children about the dangers of falling into a criminal lifestyle.
Figures released by Merseyside Police in May show that 48 under-18s were arrested for gun crimes during 2006. The youngest offenders were just 12. The youngest of the 141 caught for knife crimes was only 11. Figures also show children as young as ten have been arrested for robbery and burglary, and another 141 under-18s arrested for the most serious Class A drugs offences.
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