A professor with 20 years of experience working as a GP and five working as a prison psychiatrist has revealed his insight into increasing violence in young people. Visiting professor at the University of Bolton , Bob Johnson, spent five years working as a prison psychiatrist at HMP Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight. He has worked alongside more than 50 serial killers, exploring the reasons for their crimes.
He then went on to become a GP for 20 years, where he identified the long-term effects of child abuse and how the trauma from childhood develops throughout adulthood. Speaking of young people , Dr Johnson notes an increase in “serious violence” coupled with a greater perceived acceptance of “extreme levels of violence” between children. Professor Johnson said: “Violence is a medical disease, it's pathological and we need to urgently change the culture that surrounds it.
” In March 2023, first time entrants into the youth justice system increased for the first time in 10 years. At the same time, proven offences were higher and sentences given to children at court saw an increase for the first time in 10 years, according to government figures. Less than two months earlier, seventeen-year-old Axel Rudakubana was charged with the murder of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport and will stand trial next year.
Last week , two 13-year-old boys were handed life terms with a minimum eight years and six months in custody for the murder of nineteen.
