NCJ Number
139485
Date Published
Unknown
Length
98 pages
Annotation
Thid report presents the methodology and findings from a Mid Glamorgan (South Wales) survey designed to determine youths' attitudes toward and involvement with crime, alcohol, drugs, and leisure.
Abstract
The survey reached 58 percent of all school attenders aged 13 through 18 years. Findings indicate that some 62 percent of all the respondents admitted committing at least one of the following crimes in order of frequency: graffiti, shoplifting, property damage, theft, damage to a car, breaking and entering, theft from a car, and vehicle theft. Overall, findings indicate that a small percentage of youth commit serious crimes. Drinking of alcoholic beverages was a more common form of social activity than drug use. It is difficult to determine from the survey the severity of underage drinking or of the scope of the problem overall. There is suggestive evidence, however, that the problem is not severe. Survey findings suggest that crime as a social activity is not rooted in a youth subculture of values alienated from the core values of normative society. Criminal activity apparently constitutes a sort of "moral holiday" for the majority of youth. This finding suggests that law enforcement and social welfare agencies should make a low-key strategic response to juvenile offenses, focusing on individual youth. Chapter references and figures and appended supplementary information