Crime fuelled by boredom…the Government’s fault or the parents’ responsibility?
Theft, handling stolen goods, burglary, fraud, criminal damage…can ASBOs really be the new craze amongst the youth of today?
Although crimes committed by young people seems to be decreasing slowly over time, the severity and the number of young offenders being convicted has more than doubled over the last decade.
So who is not doing their job right…the government or the parents of these juvenile delinquents?
The Home Office believe that the following are reasons why the youth turn to crime;
* Troubled home life
* Poor attainment at school, truancy and school exclusion
* Drug or alcohol misuse and mental illness
* Deprivation such as poor housing or homelessness
* Peer group pressure
So they have recognised what they think is causing the problems, but what are they actually doing to stop it? Do programs such as Sure Start and Connexions actually make a difference or are young people just not interested?
The age at which a child can be responsible for criminal activity is currently 10 in England and Wales (one of the lowest in Europe) and ASBOs are no longer viewed as a negative entity but have been described as a ‘badge of honour’!
So are governments powerful enough or does this action for change have to start in the home? Are parents simply not as strict as they should be?
After visiting Leicester to do a consultation with Katie and Yvonne last week and actually visiting a deprived area where the children are a key problem, it is hard to see any way that this problem could be resolved, even though the whole community including youths themselves are hoping for change.