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Criticism of sentencing plan for young robbers
A committee of MPs has come under fire for suggesting that juveniles who commit robberies should be able to cite "peer pressure" as a mitigating factor when being sentenced for their crime.
The Commons home affairs committee said judges considering sentences should treat young robbers differently if they acted as part of a group.
But the proposal was attacked by the Conservatives, who branded the idea "ridiculous".
The suggestions come as part of a series of recommendations put forward by the committee in response to proposals from the Sentencing Guidelines Council that were issued last year.
A separate list of mitigating factors should be set out for robbers under 18, the MPs said.
"Peer pressure, the influence of adults and the very uneven rates of development for 10 to 17-year-olds might be mitigating factors for younger offenders in particular," said the committee's report.
It also called for more detailed guidance on sentencing younger offenders, but added that "such guidance should not start from the assumption that the appropriate response to immaturity or challenging family backgrounds is necessarily a discounted length of sentence".
New guidance should instead aim to ensure that the sentence contains all the elements necessary to ensure the successful rehabilitation of the offender, the report said.
And the MPs pointed to a recent spate of fatal stabbings, suggesting that criminals who have clearly planned their crime by pre-arming themselves should face stiffer sentences.
The Conservatives backed the proposal that pre-arming with knives should be an aggravating factor for robbery.
But shadow home secretary David Davis said the idea that juveniles should be able to use peer pressure as a mitigating factor was "ridiculous".
"We welcome the recommendation that pre-arming with a knife should be an aggravating factor as entirely sensible," Davis said.
"It is ridiculous, however, for juvenile robbers to be able to claim peer pressure as a mitigating factor in robbery.
"Peer pressure is virtually unprovable and this would represent a virtual 'get out of jail free' card for the cynical type of criminal that would take part in violent robbery in the first place."
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