Children arrested for toy gun game
Three 12-year-old children were arrested by five officers who took them to a police station, finger-printed them and took DNA samples because they were playing with a plastic toy gun.
Northumbria Police said Government guidelines on recording crime introduced on 1 April forced officers to take a stricter line on weapons incidents.
They also blamed market traders selling highly realistic mock firearms for the drastic course of action because officers could not tell if the gun was real.
The youngsters, one girl and two boys, were playing a James Bond game on a Sega Megadrive games console before they decided to act out the game near their homes, a parent said.
A police reprimand will stay on their record for three years. Their DNA and fingerprints will stay on file for life. The girl's parents said they were horrified at the "heavy-handed" police approach.
