Youth, Crime and Delinquency:
protecting children and
reducing crime
Martin Davis
Head of Engagement & Partnerships
Introduction – the issues
 Urban safety – Habitat Agenda
 Prevalence of Youth Crime and Disorder
 Risk Factors
 Regeneration based programmes
 Citizen focused and locally based initiatives
 Neighbourhood Management and
Neighbourhood Policing
Safer Communities

Four out of ten males and one in ten
females are likely to be found guilty or
cautioned for an indictable offence at
some point during their lives.

“….. Urban safety is today about
increasing choices for men and
women, girls and boys to move freely
without threat, harassment, sexual
assault, rape, or intimidation because
of gender, ethnicity or community
affiliation. It is also about responsive
and inclusive governance.”

Anna Tibaijuka - Executive Director UN Habitat September 2007
Prevalence of Youth Crime

Young people found guilty by youth courts or cautioned has fallen in
England and Wales over the past 20 years.

Youth crime is far more prevalent than recorded crime suggests?

Young people are responsible for 40% of crimes such as theft, burglary,
robbery and violence

Police recorded crime statistics and national surveys of the victims of
crime show offences most often committed by young people - such as
violence - risen dramatically over the same period.

Individuals more often break the law when they are young.

Young people who become involved in crime before they are 14 tend to
become the most persistent offenders, with longer criminal careers.
Risk Factors

Individual Factors - includes hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour; early
onset of aggressive and other problem behaviour; being male

Family - poor parental supervision; harsh or erratic discipline; family
conflict; parental criminality; low family income

Peers - delinquent peer group; high proportion of unsupervised time
spent with peers

School - low attainment; low commitment/truancy; aggressive behaviour
and bullying; exclusions; school disorganisation

Community Poverty - disadvantaged, neglected neighbourhood;
community disorganisation, high turnover and lack of social ties; drug
availability

Institutional responses – criminalisation of youth and youth services
Mitigating Risk Factors/Protective Factors

Little attention has been paid to factors that protect young people,
especially those from high-risk backgrounds, from offending.

Protective factors that are known include having:


a resilient temperament;

a warm, affectionate relationship with at least one parent;

parents who provide effective supervision, pro-social beliefs and
consistent discipline;

and parents who maintain a strong interest in their children's education.
An understanding of how to build on the positive features influencing
individuals, their families and communities can be used to increase the
effectiveness of prevention strategies.
Programmes to Challenge Youth Crime

Whole support and diversion programmes such as:

Communities that Care - CTC was established in the UK in 1997 with the
support of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It takes an evidence-based
approach to identifying the main risk and protective factors for young people
within a local area and then engages commissioners in the development of
an holistic children and young people's action plan.

Kids Company - Project aims to provide emotional and practical support to
children to bring about positive changes to their lives. The charity seeks to
emotionally re-engage young people and encourage them to value their lives
and futures, which has a significant impact on youth offending levels
(independent observers estimate that in 10 years Kids Company has saved
more than 3,000 children from going to prison or committing violent crime or
murder).
Citizen Focused Services
LSP/CDRP/Voluntary
Sector
Working with an in-depth
understanding of the needs and
expectations of individuals and
local communities
Young People
Police
Authority
Contributing to
the development
of citizen focused
Community Advisory
Panels  PCCG
Local Business
Local Authority
Housing, Social Services,
Education, Environment etc.
North Tyneside - example
 Small dedicated Neighbourhood
Management Team (NMT) leads
the development of the initiative,
working with residents, community
groups, councillors and service
providers.
 Identifies local needs and priorities
and then puts in place initiatives to
improve the local area and get
things done.
 NMT is accountable to local
residents and ‘visibly taking
responsibility at the sharp end’.
 NMT plays a major role in
supporting voluntary and social
enterprise activity, and in helping
develop residents associations
and community groups.etc
MPA Youth Scrutiny
– Understanding young peoples needs
.

The Metropolitan Police Authority are currently undertaking an in-depth scrutiny of
the Metropolitan Police Service’s interactions with young people about the
causes, effects and impacts of young people’s involvement in crime as victims,
witnesses and perpetrators and how this influences their interactions and
relationships with the MPS.

Reducing youth victimisation and youth offending is a key concern for
the MPS for a number of years. However, this concern has been given
added impetus by a number of different factors. Recent research
indicates that:


victims are young and getting younger;

criminals are also getting younger and the crimes that they are committing
are increasingly serious;

and young people are being increasingly criminalised in public discourse.
The scrutiny is time limited and the final report is to be presented at the April 2008
Full Authority meeting.
Conclusion
 Youth Crime Reduction within a broader policy context – Habitat
Agenda and regeneration.
 Need to tackle risk factors in early years
 Need to challenge youth crime through understanding and positive
intervention – justice and welfare
 No easy assumptions about youth intervention needs – need to guide
and encourage the young and not demonise and build their capacity
to challenge crime and disorder and drug misuse
 Home area basis for developing services through responsive, citizen
focused services which enable Safer Communities
 Neighbourhood management and neighbourhood policing useful
platform to develop such services