|
LONDON, Aug. 16-- A powerful committee of the Houses of Parliament Thursday demanded to know the extent of the use of child spies in covert operations to trap law breakers. Harriet Harman, chair of Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights, has demanded more details on the use of children as covert human intelligence sources, known as CHIS. Authorities in Britain have since 2000 allowed law enforcers to use children in the investigation of minor crimes. This usually involved using young children to attempt to buy cigarettes or alcohol, when under the legal ago of 16 for cigarettes and 18 for alcohol. Veteran politician Harman has asked about the increasing scope for children to assist in both preventing and prosecuting serious crimes including terrorism, gang violence, drugs offences and child sexual exploitation. Harman wants to know whether those dangerous types of assignment were envisaged when the original legislation was introduced, and what impact assessment was undertaken regarding the risks posed to children before such assignments were introduced as part of CHIS scheme. She also said Britain's interior ministry, the Home Office, has been unable to say how many children have been used in the scheme. Harman's committee wants details of the numbers of children aged 16 used in the scheme since it was introduced in 2000, and the number of public authorities who have used so-called child spies. | 
