Chorley Police issue public statement as teenage attacks, first covered by the Post, gain BBC attention

In July, the Post told the story of two Chorley mums who joined forces after both their schoolgirl daughters were violently assaulted by the same gang of girls.

This week, the BBC also picked up on the story, broadcasting a report on Wednesday night (August 31) involving children and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Chorley.

The BBC News report has prompted a new response from Chorley Police, who say they want to provide further information and context for the community.

Chief Superintendent Eddie Newton, Area Commander for South Division, said: “I am sickened and appalled by the incidents and the behaviour of the young people shown on the news report, particularly the filming of children being attacked and the sharing of that footage on social media. The young people who committed these crimes should be ashamed of their actions, and their parents / guardians should be having some frank and difficult conversations with them.

“I don’t underestimate the impact that this has had on the victims and their families. We have done a significant amount to both support them and to keep them updated and have been in constant dialogue with them over recent months. I also fully understand the anger felt by the wider community across Chorley, Lancashire and beyond and it is therefore vital that we set out both what we have done in relation to the incidents shown and also the wider work we are committed to tackling anti-social behaviour.

“These assaults happened over a number of months, with the last being reported to us in April of this year. We have thoroughly investigated all the reports and every single young person responsible has been identified, interviewed under caution and has either been dealt with, or are in the process of being dealt with, in line with national guidance on dealing with juveniles. The outcomes for each of the offenders is determined by the Youth Offender Panel, following our investigation. Of the nine offenders in total, five have received youth cautions and four are still having their cases considered by the Panel.

“I know many people feel dissatisfied with these outcomes, but we work within the confines of government guidelines through the Ministry of Justice and the Youth Justice Board. The presumption is that children and young people will not be arrested and will instead be dealt with in a manner to divert them away from entering the justice system.”

The police added that they take all reports of assault and anti-social behaviour “extremely seriously” and send officers out to emerency calls as soon as they can.

Whilst they believe all calls in relation to these incidents were dealt with appropriately, Chorley Police understand some parents are still unhappy and so will re-look at their actions.

Chief Superintendent Newton added: “In Chorley, we have been running proactive operations across the summer months to respond to local concerns. I also want to take this opportunity to reassure people that we will be looking at our policing plans again in the light of this and that we will do everything in our power to show local communities that we are tackling ASB effectively.”