“In sum, at night, young people seek excitement in cities, not safety”: discuss the relationship between young people’s leisure activities, crime and the fear of crime.
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8 word format
document in english
criminal law
presentation
date published 27/02/2007
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SummaryYoung people’s behaviours are seen in the society as a catalyser of change, a vector for social and moral evolution. Usually our societies, often driven by a sense of cautious conservatism, are prudent or even resistant towards youth’s attitude.
Contrary to the common thoughts youth delinquency has existed for a very long time and has ever raised such an amount of hostile concern among the witness citizens; As Pearson explains it “youth cultures and youth crimes assume the appearance of ever increasing outrage and perpetual novelty” .He goes on giving us one of the first instance of historic “young offenders” in London in 1625. Thus youth offending, and the consecutive reactions of the society, are not and have never been recent phenomenon. Last century saw successive waves of concerns of what was seen as youthful lawlessness. Different subcultures that belonged to the young part of the population were described and demonised, where in fact none involved any criminal connection at all. But young people were, and still are seen as disruptive and dangerous. The association of youth and crime seems obvious and results in defiance widespread in the society, becoming progressively a mere prejudice. The different forms of leisure, the most natural behaviours expected from the children, have now often turned in a mean of delinquency.
Is the link between young people’s criminality, their leisure and the fear of crime really justified or is the youth just an easy scapegoat?
Contrary to the common thoughts youth delinquency has existed for a very long time and has ever raised such an amount of hostile concern among the witness citizens; As Pearson explains it “youth cultures and youth crimes assume the appearance of ever increasing outrage and perpetual novelty” .He goes on giving us one of the first instance of historic “young offenders” in London in 1625. Thus youth offending, and the consecutive reactions of the society, are not and have never been recent phenomenon. Last century saw successive waves of concerns of what was seen as youthful lawlessness. Different subcultures that belonged to the young part of the population were described and demonised, where in fact none involved any criminal connection at all. But young people were, and still are seen as disruptive and dangerous. The association of youth and crime seems obvious and results in defiance widespread in the society, becoming progressively a mere prejudice. The different forms of leisure, the most natural behaviours expected from the children, have now often turned in a mean of delinquency.
Is the link between young people’s criminality, their leisure and the fear of crime really justified or is the youth just an easy scapegoat?
Table of Contents
- Young people's experiences of crimes: the facts
- Young people as offenders
- Witnessing crime and the victimisation of youth
- Reasons for offending: prosecuting the leisure habit
- The reaction of the society and the state to ´the lawless youth´
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