Sharing Crimes On Social Media Could Earn Tougher Sentences For British Teens
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Reflecting changes in technology, teenage criminals in parts of the United Kingdom may soon face harsher sentences for bragging about their crimes on social media.
Under new proposed sentencing guidelines, judges in England and Wales can consider if an offender under 18 who record their crime and post it online a "serious aggravating feature," the BBC reports.
"We want to ensure that young people who have committed offences are sentenced fairly and proportionately, with the primary aim of stopping them reoffending," Lord Justice Treacy of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales said in a statement. "These guidelines will help achieve this. No one wants young people turning into adult criminals and sentencing must play its part in fostering a sense of responsibility and helping them reintegrate rather than become alienated."
Officials said they created the new guidelines as a growing number of teens record crimes on their smartphones and share photos and videos, with the intent to humiliate or blackmail their victims.
Last month, two British teen girls were sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 39-year-old woman. The girls, who were 13 and 14 at the time, took photos of their attack and uploaded them to Snapchat.
In 2012, Audrie Pott, a sophomore at Saratoga High School, took her own life after she was sexually assaulted by three teen boys who took photos of the attack and distributed them among classmates.
The tougher sentences could be implemented later this year, following public consultation.
Tim Fang is a digital producer for CBS San Francisco and a native of the Bay Area. Follow him on Twitter @fangtj.
