A boy who was convicted of several crimes since he was 13 years old, has been jailed after a magistrate found that he had ignored various opportunities to reform and he still thought he could do whatever he liked.

The boy pleaded guilty to stealing several items from a house in Senglea on January 12, 2009 with a total value not exceeding €2,329.37.

He was also found to have violated the conditions of five previous court sentences.

In is considerations, the court, presided by Magistrate Doreen Clarke, found that the boy was 16 when he committed his latest crime. He had previously been found guilty of possession of drugs, violent theft, holding a person against her will, illegal possession of a knife, driving without a licence, assaulting and injuring a policeman, and assault on a prison warden. Some of the crimes were committed when he was 13 years old.

The Magistrate said the courts had made various attempts to help the boy and give him opportunities to reform. He was given warnings, conditional discharge, probation, suspended sentences and even a short period of detention. He was also ordered to serve community service.

In this latest case, the boy admitted the charges on February 16, 2009, which was more than a year ago. The court had not handed down sentence immediately to hear submissions on punishment and to give the boy yet another chance to show that he was willing to reform.

Unfortunately, however, the boy had not done so.

"The boy has learnt absolutely nothing and he still thinks he can do whatever he likes and the authorities and the laws can be ignored," the court said.

This was shown not only through his actions in the past, but also over the past months since his admission. He knew that the court was giving him another chance to prove he wanted to change his ways. but he had not done so, despite his promises.

The court said it had noted defence submissions that the boy had a difficult upbringing. That was why he was assisted over the years. But the measures taken by the courts had had no positive results. He continued to show the same disrespect, not only at authority but also to the laws and regulations which he, despite being a minor, like any other person, had a duty to observe.

The court said it also appreciated that the boy recently made contact with Caritas so as to again start a drug rehabilitation programme It was not his fault that his assessment was not carried out.

But the court could also not ignore the fact that while he was trying to be admitted to the Caritas programme, he started taking heroin. Indeed, the boy's drug problem was rapidly getting more serious.

The court said the laws were there to be observed by all, adults and minors, and minors too had to account for their actions, although the laws provided for a reduction of their punishment, because of their age.

The court was limited in the actions it could take with regard to convicted minors since it too had to follow the law. In this case , the court had no choice but to impose a prison sentence for this case, while also making effective the previous prison sentences imposed on the boy since 2007.

Magistrate Clarke said the court remained of the view that the Corradino prisons were not the ideal place for minors to be held in detention, but there was no other way of detention, more suitable for children.

The boy was therefore jailed for a period of 23 months.