Young offenders

Crime is something that affects people of all ages, whether you're a victim, or an offender. But what makes someone more likely to offend, and is youth offending as bad as the media makes out?

The news regularly talks about 'yobs' and 'hoodies', but how the media portrays young people isn't necessarily a true perspective of the behaviour of all young people in society.

But unfortunately, offending does affect young people - whether as a victim or a perpetrator - and there are a number of reasons why some of us are more likely to get in trouble than others.

 "Criminal behaviour is caused by a range of factors and circumstances, many of which have propelled offenders into survival mode in whatever way they can," says Trevor Philpott OBE FRSA, chairman of Life Change UK, a charity dedicated to helping young adult offenders stop re-offending.

"Personal behaviour and thinking is shaped over the years by the environment and experiences in which we grow up - our family, home, school, college, university, work place, our peers and travels. Some experiences are exciting, challenging and rewarding. Others are deflating and demoralising," he adds.

Why offend?

There are many reasons why young people may get into trouble. These may stem from reasons including:

• Lack of discipline at home and in school;
• Bad communication between parents and teenagers;
• Peer pressure;
• Violence at home;
• Money problems;
• Poor housing;
• Instability;
• Low grades at school;
• Availability of drugs and alcohol;
• Bullying and alienation;
• Hyperactivity;
• Learning problems;
• Mental health problems.

"A lot of young people are very bored and many may be living in situations where they don't really care what happens to them," says Alison Rohan, a volunteer for Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP Britain) and lecturer of youth and community work at Manchester University.

"Also, young people want excitement, to take some risks, to try things out and be a bit naughty. Once you get into that cycle and commit an offence, it's actually very hard to get out of it."

Home Office research (2000) revealed the experiences and opinions of young people in custody. Many young offenders admitted they'd received warnings from adults about getting into trouble. "It goes in one ear and out the other. That's when you're young and don't give a fuck," said one young man in custody.

A female offender who also took part in the study said her mother had done her best to intervene. "She tried everything, and it's not worked has it? They tear their hair out trying to help you, but at the end of the day it's down to me and I know what's got to be done."

25-year-old Matt Bowes told TheSite.org how he found himself offending from the age of 14. "It was petty crime to start off with, which progressed into more serious things. My main offences were car theft and burglaries. I started by stealing from shops and then I got into even worse things and started skiving off school. I think the reason I got into trouble was because I had no direction in my life at that time.

"My parents always tried to show me the right way, but I always thought I knew what was best, and it just went from bad to worse. I was influenced by the older people that I hung around with. We were in a gang and everyone was getting into trouble. Once you get to that stage, it's hard to get out of it.

What do the statistics say?

There are 11,133 people under the age of 21 in custody in England and Wales, 2,320 of those are 15 to 17 year-olds, and 233 are in secure training centres (figures from April 2006). The number of 15 to 17 year-olds in custody is said to have doubled in the last 10 years.

In 2004, just over 32,000 young adult offenders aged 18-24 were sentenced to imprisonment. Over two-thirds are expected to re-offend within two years of release, with over 40% returning to prison. With men, the reconviction rate rises to 82%.

If you were to believe everything the media tells us, you'd think that crime amongst young people is getting worse. In fact, according to Government statistics, crime committed by young people hasn't increased in the past five years and the number of young offenders has actually fallen by 14% between 1995 and 2001.

"There are high-risk young offenders, but in many other cases the responses needed involve education, health and child protection," says Rob Allen, an expert involved in Tony Blair's plans to transform the youth justice system. "Kids fight, for instance, but the question is whether that is a criminal problem that needs punishment or a social problem to be resolved."