Children being 'actively recruited' by criminals amid surge in youngsters caught with stolen goods
Warning that there are insufficient deterrents in place
Children are being “routinely exploited” for criminal means amid a surge in the number of youngsters being caught with stolen goods, according to one of Scotland’s leading policing figures.
New data from Police Scotland shows that the number of children caught in possession of stolen goods has almost doubled in the space of four years, with some of those apprehended by officers of primary school age.
The chairman of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank and file officers, said he was increasingly concerned that adult criminals were enlisting minors to carry out crimes, and bemoaned a lack of preventative, educational or rehabilitative measures.
An analysis by 1919 Magazine found that officers using stop-and-search powers caught 48 young people, some as young as 12, between April and June this year.
The number of young people being caught in possession of stolen goods has risen from 104 in 2023/24 to 172 last year. If the rest of 2026/27 continues at the rate it has started, then a predicted 200 incidents are set to be recorded this year.
Speaking to the publication, the SPF’s David Threadgold said the figures suggested children are being “routinely exploited for the purposes of criminality.”
He said: “The problem is there is no deterrent - the kids and the criminals know that no matter what happens they won’t be properly punished.
“Sentencing guidelines which say under-25s should not be jailed only work if there are proper preventative, educational or rehabilitative measures instead - but that just isn’t the case. The police can only respond to this, we can’t be in every shop all the time.”
Included in the stop and search data for the first quarter of this year were two 12-year-old girls caught in East Kilbride, a 14-year-old boy in Glasgow who was also found in possession of a knife, and two 14-year-old boys in Dumfries.
Stephanie Karte, chief executive officer of Retailers Against Crime, a national, not for profit crime partnership which shares information with over 1,500 retail businesses, said its members were increasingly reporting concerns about young people being “exploited” by organised offenders to carry out thefts on their behalf.
She said: “While shoplifting is often viewed as a low-level offence, in many cases it forms part of wider criminal activity, where children and vulnerable individuals are being used to reduce the risk to those directing the crime.
“Our members regularly describe incidents involving groups entering stores with clear intent to steal, often using distraction techniques, intimidation and co-ordinated actions.”
Ms Karte added: “The impact extends far beyond the value of the goods taken. Retail staff are frequently subjected to abuse, threats and violence when challenging offenders. Behind every theft is a real impact on retail workers who are simply trying to do their job and serve their communities.”
It comes as a Scotland-wide campaign warning that adult criminals are exploiting children to commit crime is underway. The campaign, created by Fearless, the youth service of Crimestoppers, points out that adults can use trust, friendship, money, status and protection to draw children into criminality.
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable, Phil Davison, stressed that retail crime was “not victimless,” and said the force had seen some of the most vulnerable young people in its communities being “actively recruited and exploited” by organised criminals to steal and resell goods for financial gain, a trend which potentially draws them into wider criminality.
“Through our retail crime taskforce and local policing divisions, we have strengthened our approach, improving intelligence gathering, proactive enforcement and closer engagement with retailers,” he explained.
“This has helped build confidence in reporting and improving our understanding of the scale of the issue and develop effective disruption of those exploiting young people and committing organised retail crime.
“We remain committed to tackling retail crime, while continuing to safeguard young people from harm and coercion into criminal behaviour. We will continue to gather evidence and use all resources at our disposal to tackle this type of crime.”
Ast Ch Con Davison added that intelligence-led stop and search was a “valuable” and “effective” policing tactic, and was used lawfully, proportionately, and in line with a code of practice.
“The code has a dedicated section for children and provides guidance for officers when deciding to stop search a child using the appropriate statutory power,” he said. “All searches carried out are subject to governance and review in line with scrutiny arrangements to confirm they comply with the code of practice.”
Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson, Pauline McNeill, said: “Police Scotland has faced underfunding for years and it is crucial that the Scottish government ensures officers have the resources they need in order to keep our communities safe. But we must also work with retailers to understand what more can be done to address this issue, including around the use of CCTV and modern technology.”
Her Scottish Conservative counterpart, Stephen Kerr, added: “Criminal gangs are exploiting the SNP’s soft-touch justice system and under-25 sentencing guidelines by recruiting children into becoming foot soldiers to steal from shops, whilst the gangsters sit back and pocket the profits.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The criminal exploitation of children is abhorrent and partners on Scotland’s serious organised crime taskforce will use all means at their disposal to ensure that those responsible are held to account.
“We are providing an additional £3 million annually until 2028/29 for Police Scotland to support the work of the retail crime taskforce. The taskforce is delivering real results, targeting repeat offenders and using data and intelligence to drive enforcement in the most affected areas. In its first year, it resulted in over 6,400 charges and the taskforce continues to work with retailers and communities to help prevent and tackle retail crime.”