EDGES MAGAZINE Issue 45

September 2006

 
  Teenage attitudes to crime. Almost half believe that 'crime does pay' Permit Granted by Jane Edmonds Crime Concern
 
 
Six out of 10 teenagers in socially deprived areas believe crime pays, according to a recent survey. Nationally, the figure was four out of 10.

Going to prison was by far the biggest deterrent against committing a crime, the survey of 600 young people by insurers Norwich Union revealed. In comparison, being handed a community service order or being fined were considered the most effective deterrent by just 5% and 1% respectively. The UK has the highest imprisonment rate in the EU at 139 per 100,000. The prison population in England and Wales in June 2003 was more than 73,470 - the highest recorded and by the end of the decade Home Office projections predict a prison population of between 91,400 and 109,600.

The study of young people aged 13 to 19 revealed that more than a third accepted crime was part of their society. Four out of 10 admitted to knowing someone who had committed a crime, with this figure doubling to eight out of 10 in socially deprived parts of Britain. However, 54% admitted being worried that either themselves or their friends and family would be victims of crime. In socially deprived areas, 94% had been a victim of crime.

Teenagers said the most effective deterrents to crime were prison (62%), having a criminal record (19%), upsetting parents (6%), getting caught by the police (6%), community service (5%) and a fine (1%). When asked who they most respected, the majority (64%) named their parents, but just 32% in socially deprived areas named the police. More than eight out of 10 said the Government and its views were too removed from their lives.

Norwich Union's 'Youth Insight Report' showed the crimes that teenagers were most likely to have suffered were assault or street theft (30%). One in three teens in Hackney, east London, said they had experience of gun crime. Gun crime, drug-dealing and assault were considered the most serious offences,while vandalism, shoplifting and mobile phone theft were seen as the least serious. Interviewees dismissed the idea of "gang culture" with 85% saying they were simply part of a group of friends.

Norwich Union is now working with the crime reduction organisation Crime Concern to launch an anti-crime apprenticeship scheme. Three apprentices have been appointed in Chester, Birmingham and London to work with experienced managers setting up crime-reduction and drug-education programmes in poor areas.

Jill Willis,market development manager for Norwich Union Insurance, said: "As our research has shown, it is no longer sufficient to solely rely on preventative measures to reduce crime. If teenagers are growing up believing that crime does pay, we need hands-on approaches like the apprenticeship scheme to offer alternative ways of thinking about and tackling crime."

She added: "Teenagers are often easy targets for people attempting to explain the rise in crime, and often dismissed as the problem with society rather than seen as part of the solution. In funding the first of these Norwich Union apprentices,we will be responding directly to young people's experiences and fears and giving them the opportunity and forum to become involved in crime prevention measures at grassroots level."

Chris Dyer, programme manager at Crime Concern, added: "Through the Norwich Union Apprenticeship Scheme we are able to target some areas most in need and expanding this initiative to include young people is a step forward in making these estates a safer place to live."

 

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