NCJ Number
212209
Date Published
2004
Length
119 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings from the Youth Survey 2003 commissioned by the Youth Justice Board examining young people’s experience of crime both as a victim and as an offender.
Abstract
The Market and Opinion Research International (MORI) conducted the 2003 Youth Survey on behalf of the Youth Justice Board (YJB), examining young people’s experience of crime, both as offenders and victims of crime, as well measuring the changes for young people in England and Wales since the 2002 Survey. MORI conducted two separate surveys: a survey of young people aged 11-16 in mainstream education and a survey of young people aged 10-16 who were currently excluded from mainstream schools and attending a special project. Areas addressed in the survey included: (1) demographics and home life of young people; (2) offending behavior; (3) outcomes of offending; (4) attitudes towards what is wrong; (5) fears and experiences of crime; and (6) truancy and exclusion. Finding show that overall levels of offending among young people have remained constant since 2002. However, there has been an increase in the average number of crimes committed by young offenders, a drop in detection rates and a marginal increase in the proportion of young who re-offend. The findings suggest that young offenders are now far more likely to receive some form of punishment as a consequence of being caught. The most common crime which young people are a victim of is being threatened by others. The age at which young people start playing truant reflects the age at which young people start offending. A strong correlation was found between truancy and offending. Tables and appendixes A-G