Critically analyse the view that ‘offending by children is out of control and justifies a tough response’.
The aforementioned question can be split into two questions and this essay will address both. The perception that offending by children is out of control has been scrutinised throughout history, and each generation is of the belief that youth is much more criminally minded than their predecessors. The first section of this essay will reveal that through history this statement has been used consistently, the use of statistical data and historical facts will reveal that this is a common misconception. However, these figures and statistics may not be as factual as we’re lead to believe and a greater analysis across a wider means of testing …show more content…
Well, many historians agree that the expression of youthful behaviour in the context of a social problem was identified during the early nineteenth century when the first systematic collection of criminality was recorded, therefore highlighting the apparent problem with youth over 200 years ago. However, from 1930 rates of youth crime have been increasing, except for a slight decrease following the Second World War. Following this decrease, youth crime has consistently increased dramatically up until the mid-1990’s. The statement that ‘offending by children is out of control’ is therefore not a recent revelation. In fact, figures published by the Ministry of Justice 2013/2014 showed the number of overall proven offences recorded was 90,769 which is a staggering drop of 68% since 2007. So why is youth crime always perceived to be out of …show more content…
After all, the media coverage sensationalised the youth element of the riots. The riots sparked an immediate media event showing 24 hour coverage of burning buildings, hooded youths and large scale looting. And when representations such as this are flooding all media outlets such as television, social media and tabloid newspapers the opportunity arises for deviancy amplification (Stanley Cohen) which encourages others to join in and ultimately causes moral panic. However, what was really going on with the youth in reference to the rioting? There are a number of theories that can assist in explaining the actions of youths during this time. Post-riot reports such as The Children’s Society suggested that the main reason young people got involved in the rioting was in order to take advantage of the situation and acquire the possessions that they otherwise would not be able to afford to buy( Children’s Society, 2011). The British Youth Council (2011) further supported this and added that poor parenting, a lack of jobs and opportunities encouraged a lack of respect for right and wrong. This seems to suggest that the youth of today is crying out to be heard, and no one is
The aforementioned question can be split into two questions and this essay will address both. The perception that offending by children is out of control has been scrutinised throughout history, and each generation is of the belief that youth is much more criminally minded than their predecessors. The first section of this essay will reveal that through history this statement has been used consistently, the use of statistical data and historical facts will reveal that this is a common misconception. However, these figures and statistics may not be as factual as we’re lead to believe and a greater analysis across a wider means of testing …show more content…
Well, many historians agree that the expression of youthful behaviour in the context of a social problem was identified during the early nineteenth century when the first systematic collection of criminality was recorded, therefore highlighting the apparent problem with youth over 200 years ago. However, from 1930 rates of youth crime have been increasing, except for a slight decrease following the Second World War. Following this decrease, youth crime has consistently increased dramatically up until the mid-1990’s. The statement that ‘offending by children is out of control’ is therefore not a recent revelation. In fact, figures published by the Ministry of Justice 2013/2014 showed the number of overall proven offences recorded was 90,769 which is a staggering drop of 68% since 2007. So why is youth crime always perceived to be out of …show more content…
After all, the media coverage sensationalised the youth element of the riots. The riots sparked an immediate media event showing 24 hour coverage of burning buildings, hooded youths and large scale looting. And when representations such as this are flooding all media outlets such as television, social media and tabloid newspapers the opportunity arises for deviancy amplification (Stanley Cohen) which encourages others to join in and ultimately causes moral panic. However, what was really going on with the youth in reference to the rioting? There are a number of theories that can assist in explaining the actions of youths during this time. Post-riot reports such as The Children’s Society suggested that the main reason young people got involved in the rioting was in order to take advantage of the situation and acquire the possessions that they otherwise would not be able to afford to buy( Children’s Society, 2011). The British Youth Council (2011) further supported this and added that poor parenting, a lack of jobs and opportunities encouraged a lack of respect for right and wrong. This seems to suggest that the youth of today is crying out to be heard, and no one is