Leader: Adult crime should mean adult time

After climbing into a Wellington house while a young mum and her children slept upstairs and taking the car keys, Josh Stentiford led police on a high speed chase through Telford.

During the six-mile pursuit he went through red lights and at one point tried to force the officer tailing him off the road.

In normal circumstances Josh Stentiford would have enjoyed anonymity when he was brought to justice at Telford Youth Court as, being 17, he is classed as a juvenile.

To its credit, the panel decided to accede to a request from the Shropshire Star to make his name public, so that young Mr Stentiford cannot have the privilege of indulging in his reckless and life-threatening activities without people knowing about him.

As he proudly posed on Facebook at the wheel of a car – he does not even have a licence – he does not appear to be the shy, retiring type, but somebody happy to boast about his predilection to drive cars illegally.

In sentencing him to 18 months in a young offenders' institution, the panel told him he had got off lightly and, had he been an adult, he could have been jailed for up to seven years.

While appreciating that the court's hands were tied, it is another case of the law failing to serve the people.

Had Stentiford been given the seven years his actions so richly deserved, it would not only reflect the seriousness of his crimes, but also give him long enough to mull over his actions and vow to change his ways.

An 18 month sentence to a criminal is more of an occupational risk and inconvenience than a deterrent.

Stentiford begins his time as a reckless teenager. If he emerges at the end of his sentence as a reckless teenager, will it have done anybody any good?