A 14-year-old girl from Southampton is due to appear in court later this month charged with 22 offences including theft, assault and criminal damage in Southampton city centre.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with two counts of criminal damage, five counts of theft, five counts of assault, six counts of assaulting an emergency worker, one count of racially/religiously aggravated common assault, two counts of failing to comply with a Section 35 direction excluding a person from an area and one count of possession of a Class B drug.

These charges relate to a series of incidents which took place across February and March of this year:

·        On February 6th damage worth £700 was caused to a glass door at Asiamart on the High Street. On the same day, the girl was found to have failed to comply with an order under Section 35 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 that excluded her from being in the city centre. Cannabis was also located in her possession.

·        On two occasions across February 21st and 22nd alcohol worth more than £50 was taken from John Lewis at West Quay shopping centre.

·        On February 22nd a staff member at Burger King was assaulted, causing minor injuries, and more than £200 worth of damage was caused to a door inside the restaurant. A staff member was assaulted again at Burger King on March 16th.

·        On February 23rd a member of staff at the Tesco Express store on the High Street and a police officer were both assaulted, sustaining minor injuries.

·        On February 28th a 15-year-old girl was assaulted in Southampton city centre, causing injuries to her face and knee. The 14-year-old girl was arrested and on her attendance at the police station four officers were assaulted, sustaining minor injuries. The theft of wine and chocolate was reported at the London Road Tesco Express store on the same day.

·        On March 1st various alcohol products were taken from Tesco Express on the High Street.

·        On March 2nd a member of staff at the Marlands Shopping Centre was assaulted. On arrest, the 14-year-old girl assaulted a police officer and made racist comments towards him.

·        On March 4th a phone was stolen from a Blue Star bus.

·        On March 16th, the girl was found to have failed to comply with an order under Section 35 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 that excluded her from being in the city centre.

The girl is next due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on March 24th.

These charges form part of our ongoing work tackling anti-social behaviour, theft and other associated criminal behaviour in the city centre. As well as pursuing outcomes via the criminal justice route, police also work with partnership agencies including health and council services in cases of children under the age of 18 who repeatedly come to our attention.