We must identify and care for those with evil in their hearts

THEY were children, just children, but the violent physical and sexual assault which they visited upon two young boys would be beyond the comprehension of most people were the perpetrators adults.

At the time of their shocking crime the two brothers convicted yesterday of causing grievous bodily harm and threatening to kill their nine and 11-year-old victims in South Yorkshire were just ten and 11 years of age. Little wonder that the judge, Mr Justice Keith, condemned their behaviour as "appalling and terrible".

Given the heinous nature of the assaults, one can only imagine the hell that their victims went through, and hope that with time and support they will be able to mature into normal adulthood.

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But beyond the horror over the crime and the natural instinct of sympathy for the victims this case raises much wider issues about parenting, social services, and the extent to which politicians can shape society.

David Cameron yesterday used the this case to warn that Britain was in a "social recession", pointing to the torture of two young boys as an extreme symptom of Labour's "moral failure".

Although in his speech Mr Cameron admitted the problem had existed for many decades, his attempt to ride a wave of justified public outrage while raising questions but failing to provide answers looked ill-judged and partisan. For the truth is that this case has thrown up a far more complicated set of problems, some of which can be dealt with by society – through politicians and policy-makers – and some which cannot.

In the South Yorkshire case, a report by the Doncaster Children's Safety Board identified multiple failings in the way public agencies dealt with these boys and concludes, chillingly, that the terrible assault could have been prevented.

The lack of leadership in the agencies which dealt with the two boys, the failure to track their progress, and the lack of co-operation between various bodies are all areas which can be improved. However, there is a deeper problem which centres on the debate over the influence of nature and nurture. These boys came from very damaged families and, in these chaotic circumstance, it is little wonder they descended into their own depraved heart of feral darkness.

If lessons are learned from the way these boys were monitored, then the chance of these kinds of attacks could be reduced, but it would be foolish to argue that they will never occur again.

We must do everything we can to ensure that our children are cared for; if necessary eschewing social work orthodoxy by taking them away from parents, and taught, coaxed, coerced and loved so that they moderate their behaviour.

But in doing this, we also have to accept that the element of nature is there in us all and in some cases – a very small minority – "children", if they can be called that, may inherit something dark, something we, and they, can do little about. For them the only thing we can do is to identify them, care for them, but make sure they are kept somewhere where they can do no harm.