Young people and crime - UCL Institute of Education

1 38145 HomeOfliceResearchStudy145 YoungpeopleandcrimebyJOhOGrahamandBCIIpm mBowlingAResearchandPlanningUnitRepotiHo meOfficeResearchandStamtuDeputmentLondon HomeOfficeYoungpeopleandcrimeHomeOfficeR esearchStudiesTheHomeOfficeResearchStudi esarereportsonresearchundertakenbyoronbe halfoftheHomeOfficeTheycovertherangeofsu bjectsforwhichtheHomeSecretaryhasrespons lbdltyTitlesmtheseriesarehstedatthebacko fthisreport(copiesareavadablefromtheaddr essonbackcover)Otherpubhcatlonsproducedb ytheResearchandPlanningUmtincludeResearc hFmdmgs(wkucharesummariesofresearchproje cts),theResearchBulletin(pubhshedtwiceea chyear)andtheannualResearchProgrammeTheR esearchandStatisticsDepartmentTheDepartm entconsistsoftheResearchandPlanningUmt,t hreeStatlstlcsDlvmons,theProgrammeDevelo pmentUmtandtheEconomicsUtutl?!lTheResear chandStatlstlcsDepartmentISanintegralpar toftheLHomeOffice,servingtheMmlstersandt hedepartmentItself,ltsserwces,Parhamenta ndthepubhcthroughresearch,develop-mentan dstatisticsInformationandknowledgefromth eselsourcesreformspohcydevelopmentandthe managementofprogrammed,themdlssemmatlonI mproveswiderpubhcunder-standingofmatters ofHomeOffIceconcernFu-stpubksbed1995 ApplzcohonforWp?

2 WkLChO?ZshouldbemadetotheInformatrortSec tion,ResearchandPlanningUmt,HomeOjice,50 QzleenAnnekGate,LondonSWIH9 MTForewordMuchresearchhasattemptedtodlum matethereasonswhyyoungpeopleengagemcrlmm alactwmes,buthttleattenuonhasfocusedonwh ysomeyoungoffendersstopoffendingwhdstoth ersgoonoffendingwellmtoadulthoodTlusstud ylooksatoffendingbyyoungpeopleduringthep eriodoftransmonfromchfldhoodtoadulthooda ndassesseswhether,onthebasisofself-repor tdata,youngoffendersdoactuallygrowoutofc runeandtiso,whyThefmdmgsarebothexpecteda ndunexpectedTheresearchshowsthatfemaleof fendersdoindeedgrowoutofcrimebythetuneth eyreachtheirmld-twenties,butthatmanymale offendersdonotItshowsthatyoungfemaleoffe nderswhocompletetheireducation,leavehome ,setuptheirownindependenthfestyleandbegu ttoformfamlhesoftheirownhaveahighchanceo fdeslstmgfromoffendingFormaleoffenders,h owever,theseMeeventsdonotseemtohavethesa meeffectForthem,therisksfacedduringthepe riodoftransmonbetweenchddhoodandadulthoo dareconsid-erableandforthem,thechancesof des~stmgfromoffendingoncetheystartareslg ndlcandylessthanforfemalesThestudyconclu deswithawiderangingdiscussionofpossibles trategiesforpreventingtheonsetof,andprom otmgdeslstancefrom,offendingThesestrateg iesincludestrengthemngfamdlesandschools, preparingyoungpeopleforleavinghome, (meAcknowledgementsWewouldhketothankalar genumberofpeoplewhohaveassisteduswiththi sreportFirstandforemost,wewouldhketoexpr essourgratitudetoMORI,andmparticularKalR udat,foroverseeingthenationalsurveyandto theteamofmtervlewerswhowentout,oftenatmg ht,msearchoftheyoungpeoplewhoansweredour questionsWewouldalsohketothankDavidFarrm gtonandChvePayneforthemexpertadviceonthe statisticalanalysls.)

3 AlecRossandAndrewZurawanfortheirinvaluab leassistancewithdatapreparationandanalys ls,StephenFarrallforhlsassistancewiththe m-depthmtervlewsandduringtheearlystageso ftheresearchandJuneVennard,HdaryJackson, BrianKinney,PatMayhew,MalcolmRamsey,Nata heAye-Maung,RogerTarhngandMarIanFitzgera ldforthemconstructwecommentsonearherdraf tsofthereportMostImportantly,wewou~dalso hketoexpressourgratitudetoallthoseyoungp eoplewhogaveuptheutunetotalktoourtnterwe wers,especiallythosewhowemtervlewedtwice , ,frequencyandnatureofseK-reportedoffendi ngamong14-to25-yearoldsmEnglandandWales, toestabhshthereasonswhysomeyoungpeoplest arttooffend,andwhatmfIuencesthoseyoungof fenderswhodesistfromoffendingtosustunano n-crtmmalhfestyleExploringtheseareasrevo lvedatwo-stageresearchstrategyFmxlyanati onalrandomsampleof1,721youngpeopleaged14 to25(plusaboostersampleof808youngpeoplef romethmcrnmormes)weremterwewedabouttheir background,themfamdyMe,theirschoolexperi encesandaspectsofthemcurrenthfestyleResp ondentswereaskedtoadmitwhethertheyhadeve rcomtmttedoneofahstof23cnmmaloffences(se eAppendmB)orusedcontrolleddrugsThosewhoh adevercommittedatleastoneoffencewereaske datwhatagetheycomm]ttedeachtypeofoffence forthefirsttuneandwhethertheyhadalsocomm ittedanoffencewnhmthepastyear(1992)

4 Active offenderswereasked,amongstotherthings,ho wmanyoffencestheyhadcomtmttedduringthepa styearandfordetadsabouttheirmostrecentof fencesThesecondstageoftheresearchrevolve dMe-historymtervlewswith21 deslsters -youngpeopleldenttiiedashavingoffendedmt hepastbutnotwlthmthepremousyearThroughth eseretrospectweaccounts,ltwaspossibletot rackeventsovertnneandidentifytheinfluenc es,condmonsandcircumstanceswhichulumatel yledtodeslstancefromoffendingChapter2des cribestheextentandnatureofcrumnaloffendi ngandChapter3looksatchangesmthesepattern sofoffendtngbyageChapter4prowdesananalys lsofwhysomeyoungpeoplestartcomnnttmgoffe nces,whdstChapter5exarmnesthenotionthato ffenders growoutof crimewithageandldentti]esthemamfactorsas sociatedwithdeslstancefromoffendingChapt er6explores,theprocessofdeslstancethroug hm-depthmterwewswitha sub-sampleofdeslstersChapter7drawsoutthe conclusionsofthestudyanddiscussesarangeo fpohcyoptionsThekeyfmdmgsareouthnedbelow YoungpeopleandcrimeTheextentandnatureofo ffendingThesurveyofselfreportedoffending -thatwhichrespondentsadm]ttedtomthemterw ew-prowdesanestimateofoffendingunaffecte dbyselect]

5 Onandprocessingbythecrumnaljusticesystem Itestunateshowmanyyoungpeopleoffend,when theystart,howserioustheoffencesareandhow frequentlytheyarecommittedItallowscompar isonstobemadebysex,age, ,ofthese,aboutaquarterofm~eoffendersando neULtenfemaleoffendersadrmttedcommlttmgm orethanfiveoffencesOverall,aboutthreeper centofoffendersaccountedforapproxi-matel yaquarterofalloffenceslTheuseofdrugsMwid espreadamongstyoungpeople,everyothermale andeveryth~dfemalehaveuseddrugsatsometim emtheirhvesMostdruguseISconfiiedtocannab is,wtuchISconsumedregu-larly(atleastonce aweek)byonemthreemaleandonemfivefemaleus ersDrugsotherthancannabisareconsumedless regularly,although13percentofmaleusersan d19percentoffemaleusersdldsoatleastoncea week-Asians-thoseofIndian,PakistamandBan gladeshorlgm-haveslgnficandylowerratesof offendingthanwhitesandAfro-Carlbbeanswho haveveryslmdarratesofoffendingWhitesares hghtlymorehkelytousedrugsthanAfro-Carlbb eans, ]soneyearlaterthanthepeakageofonsetfortr uancyandrunningzwayfromhome, ) ,w.

6 , ! , ,therateofse~-reportedoffendingdechnessu bstantmflyaftertherind-teensBytheuearlyt went]es,therateofoffendingamongstfemales ISfivetimeslowerthanamongfemalejuventles Incontrast,therateofself-reportedoffendi ngformalesincreaseswithageupto18andremam satthesamelevelmtothemld-twentiesPartlcl patlonmpropertyoffendingactuallyZncrease swithagesuggestingthat,astheygrowolder,s omemalesmayswitchfromrela-uvelyriskyprop ertyoffences,suchasshophfungandburglary, tolessvmlbleandthuslessdetectableformsof propertycrime,suchasfraud andtheftfromtheworkplaceHowever,seriouso ffendingdecreasesforbothmalesandfemalesa stheyreachthemmld-twen-t]es,asdoesfreque ncyofoffendingStartingtooffendBycomparmg non-offenders (thosewhohadneveroffended)with offend-ers (thosewhohaveoffendedatsomet]memthepast) ItNposs]bletoexplorewhethertherearestati sticalassoclauonsbetweenoffendingandsuch factorsassocialclass,farmlysize,structur eandrelatlonslups,schoohngandpeergroupaf fihatlonsTfusprowdesabasisforexplauungwh ysomeyoungpeoplestarttooffendwhaleothers donotIncommonwithotherselfreportstudies( andmcontrasttostudiesbasedonrecordedcrim edata)thisstudyfoundonlyaweakrelationshi pbetweensocialclassandoffendingandthisre latlonslupdisappearedaftercontrollingfor farmlyandschoolvariablesSumlady,youngpeo plehvmgmlargerfanu-heswerenomorehkelytoo ffendthanthosefromsmallerfamfllesHowever ,youngpeoplefswngwithbothnaturalparentsw erefoundtobelesshkelytooffendthanthoseLw rngwithoneparentormastepfanulyThehigherr ateofoffendersfromsmgfeparentfamdreswasf oundtobestatisticallyassoci-atedwithless parentalsuperwslon, , (ATMcxd) ,a!

7 Ureturn.,zSW.! (s&AppcndmB)3lrmm.,xposs, ,.rcforcmca$urcdmtermsofLb, ,ch, ~mrwofcssen,,,lsname],fcodclothwand2P12 CCro1, .(f.,self,.,+F,,,,,,,,Youngpeopleandcrim eBothmalesandfemaleswhowerelessattachedt othemfanuhesweremorehkelytooffendthantho sewhowererelauvelycontentathomeThosewhos erelationshipswlrhtheuparentsledthemtoru nningawayfromhome(priortotheageof16)were partlcufmlyhkelytooffendasweremaleswhogo tonbadlywiththeufathersForbothmalesandfe males,lowparentalsuperwslonwasalsofoundt obestronglyrelatedtooffendrng(urespectwe offamdystructure)andyoungpeoplewithfrien dsorslbhngsmtroublewiththepohceweremuchm orehkelytooffendthanothersFemaleswhodlsh kedschool,orwhoratedtheirperformancebelo worwellbelowaverage,weremorellkeIytoofte ndthanthosewhohkedschoolorratedthemperfo rmancemoreposmvelyFormales,neitherthetra ttitudetowardsnortheuperformanceatschool werefoundtoberelatedtotheirstartingtooff endHowever,thosewhotruantedfromschool,es peciallythosewhodldsoregularly,andthosew hohadbeenexcludedfromschool,weremuchmore hkelytooffendthanothersMultl-variateanal yslsmdlcatedthatthestrongestcorrelatesof onsetofoffendingarecontactwithdehrrquent peers,truancyandlowparentalsuper-visionF ormales,havingdehnquentslbhngsandbeingex cludedfromschoolwerealsostrongcorrelates ofoffending.)

8 Aswerelowattachmenttofaintlyandschoolfor females rhetwomostimportantpredictorsofoffending -truancyandlowparentalsuperwslon-areboth stronglydependentuponthequahtyofparent-c hddrelationshipsThemoreoftheseadversecmc um-stancesyoungpeopleexperienceduringthe trchddhoods,themoretheyarehkelytooffendO ver80percentofyoungmalesandover60percent ofyoungfemaleswhoexperiencedfourorfiveof themostpowerfulinfluencesonoffendingwere actuallyoffendersResistancefromoffending Tofindoutwhetheryoungpeoplegrowoutofcrun eandfsowhy,theywereaskedanumberofquestio nsrelatingtothemamlifeeventswhichchatact erisethetransmonfromchddhoodtoadulthoodT heseincludedcompletmgfull-timeeducation, taktngupstableemployment,Ieavmghome,gett ingrndrrled/formmgastablepartnership,sta yingmtolookafterchddrenandtakingresponsl bdKyforthemselvesandothersOnthebasisofth esecntena,manyyoungpeoplehadnotcompleted thetmnsmontoadulthoodbythemrp]d-twenties Onatlofthesemeasures,maleswerefoundtolag bebmdfemalesIfItIStruethatyoungpeoplegro woutofcrune,thenmanyWLUnotdosobythe~mld- twentiessimplybyvu-rueofthefactthatthey( especmllymales)havenotbeenabletogrowupTo testthis,ananalyslsoftherelationshipbetw eenthesehfeeventsanddeslstencefromoffend ingwasundertakenSummaryFemaleswhosuccess fullymadethetransmontoadulthood-forexamp lehadcompletedfull-timeeducauon,lefthome andformedanewfamdyumt-wereslgndlcantlymo rehkelytohavedesistedfromoffendingthanth osewhohadnotFormales,however,passingthes elandmarkshadnosucheffectForthem,theonly factorswhichmfhtencedtheuchancesofresis- tancewerecontmumgtohveathomemtotheutwent ies,beingsuccessfulatschoolandavoldmgthe crlmmogerucinfluencesofassociatingwithot heroffenders(friends,partnersandslbhngs)

9 ,usingdrugs(particularlyharddrugs)andhea vydrmkmgSomeofthesefactors(mparticularco ntmumgtoIweathomeandassociatingwnhothero ffenders)werefoundtobestronglyrelatedtot hequahtyofrelationshipswithparentsThroug hmtermewswithu tdmdualdeslsters,Itwaspossiblecotrackeve ntsovertuneandldenmfythemfhrences,condlt lorrsandcmcumstanceswluchultunatelyledto deslstancefromoffendingThemterwewstndlca tedthatforyoungwomen,resistancetendstooc curabruptlyandconsciouslyastheyleavehome ,leaveschool,formstablepartnershipsandha vecbddrenFormales,however,deslstancewasf oundtobemoregradualandmtermlttent,withat temptstostopoftenthwartedbyeventsorchang esLOcwcumstancesForthem,theposmveeffects ofpersonalandsocialdevelopmentstendedtob eourwelghedbythemorepowerfulinfluencesof thepeergroupOtherfactorswh]chpromotedes] stancearefmdmgasenseofdmect]onandmeamngm Me,reahsmgtheconsequencesofone sactionsonothersandlearningthatcrimedoes n tpayPolicyimplicationsTheunphcatlonsforp ohcyfallmtotwopartsThefirstLSconcernedwn hprevemmgmdwldualsfromeverstartingtooffe ndandthesecondwithiindmgwaystoencourageo ffenderstodesistBasedonwhatemergedfromth estudyasthestrongestinfluencesonoffendin ganddeslstancefromoffendingduringthetran smontoadulthood,pohclesarediscussedstren gth-eningmdwldualfamdlesandschools,formm gfamdy-schoolpartnerships,reslstmgthepow erfulcrlmmogemceffectsofinvolvementmdeli nquentpeergroupsandpreparingyoungpeoplef orleavinghome,formmgnewfanuhesandacluevm gindependenceandasenseofadultresponslbdm yPreventingtheonsetofoffendingManyofthep ohc]

10 Esforstrengtheningfamshesareconcernedwit hlmprov-mgmtm-famdlalrelatlonskupsandpar entalsupet-vmonthroughparenttram-mg,thep ro~slonofopenaccessfamilycentres,support groupsforparentsofteenagers,famdypreserv ationandarangeofmeasuresforImprovmgtheYo ungpeopleandcrimeawarenessofparentsofthe risksofadolescenceandthelmphcatlonsofoff endingbehawourforthemchddrenSpecdicmeasu resforsingleparentsandstepfamdlesarealso recommendedPohclesforstrengtheningschool sarerelatedtoreducingandpreventingtruanc yandschoolexclusionsthrough,fustandforem ost,thepromotionofeffectweschoohngandbud dingonrecentgovernmentUutlatwestodlscoum getruancyandschoolexclusionsSpecdicmeasu resincludeexplomgandsettingupschemesforu nprovtngh~sonwithparents,settingUpschool SLIpportteamsandensuringschoolstakefullr esponsibt