NCJ Number
232921
Date Published
2010
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This chapter reviews historical trends in youth crime and the various preventive methods and strategies utilized in response by the youth justice system.
Abstract
Between 1950 and 1994, recorded crime in England and Wales increased tenfold and crime surveys confirmed a strong rise from the first year they covered (1981) up to the mid 1990s. There is no doubt that young offenders played a major role in the large, post-war rise in crime. Since then, all crime, however measured, has declined substantially, whereas violent crime has either leveled off or declined. Within this overall picture, there has also been a substantial decline in offenses committed by young people, with antisocial behavior declining. However, what has remained high during this period is 'noise' (chatter) about youth crime, with high levels of public anxiety, media scrutiny, and political debate. What is seen is political debate about youth crime which has created the problem it tries to address. Peaking in 2005 was an upward trend in convictions of young people for violence. The reasons for this are uncertain, but a likely explanation is that the system became more active in targeting and prosecuting violent young offenders. The public perceptions of antisocial behavior increased from 1992 to 2000, but have not increased since. This chapter examines the historical trends in youth crime and the responses by the youth justice system. In summation, trends in crime have to be understood primarily in a broader context, such as increases in emotional problems, attention deficit and hyperactive disorder (ADHD), alcohol and drug use, and not primarily as responses to the activities of the youth justice system. In very broad terms, there are a number of psychosocial disorders in young people that increased substantially over a period of 30 or 40 years following the Second World War. Tables, figures, notes, and references