At a meeting of the Northamptonshire Police Authority, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Featherstone claimed magistrates were powerless to do anything to help because the youths simply ignored threats of punishment.
During a discussion on the perfor
mance of the county's Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs), Mr Featherstone said the persistent poor performance in Daventry, which has seen an eight per cent rise in overall crime and 18 per cent rise in burglaries, was due to a small gang of high-profile criminals.
He said: "Unfortunately there is a hardcore pool of youths who are running wild and there is nothing magistrates in Daventry can do about it. This is absolutely not a criticism of the courts or the Safer Community Team on the front line.
"The problem is these youngsters go about breaking the law, go to court, come out again and start all over again, and they do not fear the consequences.
"I could sit here and name every one of these youths, and roughly where they live and the areas they impact, and the worrying thing is that many of them are not on the drugs circuit.
"They are not committing crimes to fund a drug habit, they are just rampant, and doing it so they can enjoy the high life."
The full article contains 250 words and appears in Northampton Chron & Echo newspaper.
