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Girl 'devastated' by mob beating

8:07am Saturday 29th September 2007

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The mother of a school girl, viciously beaten by a teenage mob in an unprovoked attack, has described a police decision merely to caution her attackers as "appalling."

Eleven-year-old Jade Brant spent three days in hospital after she was set upon as she walked along Otley Way, South Oxhey.

During the attack she was punched and kicked about the head and body by the gang who even used a chair to hit her across the back.

Her mother Victoria, of Brampton Road, said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw her. She came limping back to the house with a friend and her face was covered in blood. It was horrendous.

"When the police came I assumed they'd deal with them and that they would be properly punished - not let off with a warning."

Police arrested three teenagers after the attack and issued formal reprimands to a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl. Another boy, also 14, was bailed until next month.

A reprimand - formerly known as a caution - is issued when juvenile offenders admit to their first criminal offence and it is considered contrary to the public interest for the offender to be prosecuted.

On a second offence a warning can be issued. Only on a third offence is a criminal charge ususally considered.

This is known informally as the "three strikes and you're out" rule.

However, Mrs Brant says she is disgusted by the "meaningless" punishments.

  • Are the police too lenient with young thugs? Click the comemnt link below to share your views.
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Paul, Bushey says...
9:38am Sat 29 Sep 07

Me I would go straight to strike three, the law is far to lenient. Examples should be made with judges inposing sentances that will make people think twic. NO **** FOOTING AROUND FAR TO MANY OFFENDERS MOCK THE SYSTEM!

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Anon, Watford, says...
10:36am Sat 29 Sep 07

I say we bring in Boot camps for these kids, then they have to serve time in one,

I'm glad this girl is ok.

And police wonder why people take things like this in to there own hands,

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Lou, Watford says...
10:50am Sat 29 Sep 07

Anon, yes there needs to be punishment; but when they did try boot camps ('short sharp shock') in the 80s, reoffending rates were very high... and the criminals were fitter!

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Jus, Watford says...
12:11pm Sat 29 Sep 07

What is sickening is the fact that if this girl had retaliated against her attackers in self-defence, chances are she would have been hit with the same punishment, (if you can call this punishment)! Maybe some sort of punishment needs to be put upon the parents, or start naming the offenders in the papers/online etc!

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Andy, Riverside says...
1:29pm Sat 29 Sep 07

Jus wrote:
What is sickening is the fact that if this girl had retaliated against her attackers in self-defence, chances are she would have been hit with the same punishment, (if you can call this punishment)! Maybe some sort of punishment needs to be put upon the parents, or start naming the offenders in the papers/online etc!
Jus spot on - NAME & SHAME

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Tim, Herts says...
3:22pm Sat 29 Sep 07

The only solution is to make parents/guardians responsible for their kids in their charge.

Build prisons with houses inside and make them become a functional family instead of dis-functional !!

In other words punish the family for their childrens behaviour and then maybe society will change for the better.

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Colin, says...
9:45pm Sat 29 Sep 07

why not hang them?

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meridanny, watford says...
7:15am Sun 30 Sep 07

Well if that was a child of mine and the police took no action(the girl was kicked from pillar to post for gods sake)i would lower myself to the level of these scum and knock seven bells out of them and then id want a word with the parents or parent.If the law cant help then im afraid its the law of the jungle.I know people will chide on about im no better than the thugs who did this but im sorry i would not let them get away with it.A sixteen year old and two fourteen year olds on to an eleven year old GIRL,god they are so brave and the parents should be so proud of how theyve turned out.....god help us all.

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Richard, Watford says...
11:13am Sun 30 Sep 07

I would take the mob to one of the highest grade prisons in the UK and leave then in an area were they can talk to inmates and hear what will happen to them when become inmates, what will happen to them from being made sex slaves, beccoming drug addicts etc. There was a TV programme showing male inmates visiting the USA hardest prison, thats what we need to do in the UK!

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Wendy, Oxhey, Oxhey says...
5:05pm Sun 30 Sep 07

I have a 5 year old and an 8 year old and I worry about bringing them up round here. I know I sound like my mother, but bring back village stocks. Then the scum who remain anonymous would be in full public view and humiliated - and that's what we need.

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DEE, HERTS says...
11:11pm Sun 30 Sep 07

the more the courts dont do nothing the more this is gonna happn its a case of ' i can do what i want cos they aint gonna do jack abt it 'so there u go police dont want to get involved too much paper work lol and they say might grow out of it yeh right too lenient now a days do the crime do the time dont like then dont do it!

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Aimzie, Watford says...
12:06pm Mon 1 Oct 07

Surely it should depend on how exactly they broke the law in this 'three strikes and your out' system?
If a kid is caught shoplifting, then fine, he might have had a reason or have been trying to be cool and perhaps have been scared by getting caught into not doing it again, BUT when another child is beaten by some sensless teenagers who knew exactly what they were doing, can't we tie them to a post in the town centre and kick them and throw things at them and make a point that we think they're ****.

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tanya, Blackburn Lancs says...
2:31pm Mon 1 Oct 07

meridanny wrote:
Well if that was a child of mine and the police took no action(the girl was kicked from pillar to post for gods sake)i would lower myself to the level of these scum and knock seven bells out of them and then id want a word with the parents or parent.If the law cant help then im afraid its the law of the jungle.I know people will chide on about im no better than the thugs who did this but im sorry i would not let them get away with it.A sixteen year old and two fourteen year olds on to an eleven year old GIRL,god they are so brave and the parents should be so proud of how theyve turned out.....god help us all.
I used to live in watford 5 years ago,and i know live in blackburn,but regulary read the observer online,it is like that up here as well,kids do the same they go round beating the sh** out of each other and get away with it,i agree with you i would go looking for them and crack them round the head,and then sort the parents out,two wrongs dont make a right but if it was my son,in this case i think it does,the police dont do enough,the laws are cr**..
quote

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Martin, Watford says...
8:26pm Mon 1 Oct 07

Get Rid of ASBO's, Bring back the stocks and let us throw fruit and veg at them, better than naming and shaming any day.

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Citizen Kane, South Oxhey says...
2:52am Tue 2 Oct 07

Pathetic laws. These kids were wrong and are totally vicious little thugs and cowards - 3 against 1, all older and one of them a boy. They should have charged them and given them at least some form of setence, after all, what have they learned from this? Probably they have gained a bit of 'cred' from the idiots they socialise with and now have a reputation to live up to. How ironic that the press print the mothers full name and address yet the cowardly criminals are not mentioned 'for their own protection'. Where is the protection for this poor young girl? Pathetic and the Police should be ashamed down at Oxhey nic - it may not be that they create these laws but this is a sick farce.

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Paul, Bushey says...
12:01pm Tue 2 Oct 07

My solution - find a lamp post tie the little darlings to it, and ten tar and feather them with a plackard around their necks!

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Martin, Watford says...
8:10pm Tue 2 Oct 07

Good idea!

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wrw, ex-watford says...
2:26pm Wed 3 Oct 07

Put their names and faces on the Internet/public areas for all to see. Name them and shame them. With all this kind of stuff going on in the UK is it any wonder there are gangs that people join, looking out for each other... and possibly giving out their own kind of punishment.

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Mick,, watford says...
12:43pm Fri 5 Oct 07

We need to bring in somekind of community service/bootcamp. Not to punish them that's too late,but to get kids to learn about the effects their actions have on everyone else and their community. In my view this would be a compulsary activity that they would have to undertake before being allowed to get their CBT for their mopeds or drivers licence.It would last for a period of two years 4hrs per week. Get them to understand how dificult it is for someone else to go round picking up rubbish,cleaning paint of the walls and generaly learn about the fact that it is not just their home that is important but the whole neighbouhood. I think kids are now growing up thinking that life is just like another game on their game console and their actions will be forgotten the next day.

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Cruy14, Watford says...
9:12am Sat 6 Oct 07

There is plenty of retribution ready to take place according to other messages here - why doesn't someone who knows these scum just take them to one side and cream them?

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