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CHAPTER FIVE YOUTH CRIME AND DISORDER: PERCEPTIONS, ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCE

Chapter aims

This chapter addresses the following key questions:

• Do people think that the level of youth crime in Scotland is higher, lower or about the same as ten years ago?
• How common do they think that specific youth crime-related issues are in their own communities?
• How much do people worry about becoming victims of crime in general? How do such anxieties relate to their perceptions of young people and youth crime?
• To what extent is adults' behaviour conditioned by the presence of young people congregating in public places, and how willing would they be to intervene in incidents of youth crime or disorder in their own area?
• What people see as the main causes of youth crime and disorder?

Introduction

In this chapter, we move from general attitudes towards young people to a consideration of the specific issue of youth crime - an issue that has been the focus of considerable political, media and policy attention in Scotland in recent years (see, for example, recent developments in relation to child curfews, Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Parenting Orders, Community Reparation Orders, etc.).

As part of the SSA module, respondents were asked a series of questions about their perceptions of trends in and prevalence of youth crime and crime in general; their perceptions of the causes of youth crime; their anxieties about youth crime and street disorder; and their actual experiences of such behaviour.

Do people think youth crime is higher or lower than in the past?

We begin by looking at adult perceptions of trends in youth crime. Respondents were asked whether they thought that, compared with ten years ago, the amount of crime committed by young people in Scotland was higher, lower or about the same. A clear majority - 7 out of 10 - thought that youth crime was higher than 10 years ago, while just 1 in 50 thought it was lower.

Table 7 - Is the level of crime committed by young people higher, lower or about the same as 10 years ago?

Although the same broad picture was evident across most sub-groups, one or two slight variations are worth noting. In terms of age, those aged 65 and over were most likely to think that crime had increased (75%), but such a view was almost equally common among the youngest age group (73%) - again, perhaps, confounding stereotypes about the relationship between age and perceptions of crime and disorder. Those aged between 35 and 54 tended to take the most sanguine view of the issue, though two-thirds (65%) still thought the level of youth crime was higher than ten years earlier.

Other key differences relate to tenure and area type. Most strikingly, 79% of those in the most deprived areas believed that youth crime was higher than ten years ago, compared with 61% of those in areas of least deprivation; similarly, 75% of those in the social rented sector believed it to be higher, compared with 68% of owner-occupiers. Those living in remote rural communities were significantly less likely to think that youth crime was higher than in the past (60%, compared with 69% overall), as were people educated to degree level or above (60%).

Perhaps not surprisingly, there was a strong correlation between perceptions of youth crime as rising and a more negative view of young people in general. Of those in the 'most negative' category (in terms of their general orientation towards young people), 87% thought that youth crime was higher than ten years ago, compared with just 47% of those in the 'most positive' group.

As other commentators have noted, such perceptions of youth crime and crime in general 'spiralling out of control' are common, but appear to be out of step with 'crime reality' (see, for example, Hough and Roberts, 2004; Anderson, Hutton and Ingram, 2002) - at least as measured by police-recorded crime statistics and crime surveys. Of course, it is extremely difficult to estimate the actual level of youth crime, since in most instances of recorded crime there is no information about the age of the offender ( DTZ Pieda, 2005). We do know, however, that the peak age for offending occurs in the late teens and that young people (under the age of 25) account for a very significant proportion of all offending. As such, it is reasonable to assume that much of all crime is actually youth crime - and, as the following graph indicates, total recorded crime in Scotland has been on a largely downward trajectory since the early 1990s.

Figure 5 - Crimes recorded by the police by crime group, Scotland, 1971-2003

Source: Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2003: Scottish Executive

How common do people think youth crime is in their own area?

But what if people are asked to focus not on Scotland as a whole, but on youth crime-related problems in their own area? The following table shows perceptions of four specific types of problem: young people 'hanging around' the street, vandalism, problems associated with alcohol, and problems associated with drug misuse.

Table 8 - Perceptions of prevalence of specific crime problems in own area

Perhaps the first thing to note here is that between a half and two-thirds of those interviewed thought that problems associated with young people hanging around, vandalism, and young people drinking were either very or fairly common in their area. The proportion who thought that problems associated with young people and drug misuse were very or fairly common was smaller, but still around a third.

In order to facilitate sub-group analysis, an overall youth crime prevalence scale was created in which each item was given a score of between 4 ('very common') and 1 ('not at all common'), yielding a theoretical maximum score of 16 and a minimum of 4. Respondents were then allocated to quartiles on the basis of their aggregate score.

Points to note here include the fact that those in the oldest age group (65 and over) again defy stereotypes by being over-represented in the quartile with the lowest aggregate score (32%, compared with 10% of 18 to 24 year-olds). In other words, the oldest age group are less likely than the youngest to see youth crime problems as common in their area.

In terms of the quartile with the highest aggregate perceived prevalence score ( i.e.most likely to report that each of the four problems was very common in their area), respondents in social rented housing (44%) and in the areas of greatest deprivation (53%) were clearly over-represented relative to the sample as a whole (25%), while owner-occupiers and those in areas of least deprivation were under-represented (20% and 10% respectively).

Again, there was a clear relationship between perceptions of youth crime and general attitudes towards young people: of those in the 'most positive' group, 13% were in the quartile with the highest aggregate perceived prevalence score, compared with 42% of those in the 'least positive' group.

To what extent are adults directly affected by youth crime?

In order to gauge whether there is a significant gap between perceptions and direct experience of youth crime, respondents were asked how much they had personally been affected during by each of the four crime types during the last 12 months. ⁴

Table 9 - How much directly affected by different types of crime

The most obvious thing to note is that the proportion of respondents saying that they have been affected 'quite a lot' or 'a great deal' is much lower for each crime type than the proportion saying it is 'very' or 'fairly common' in their area. In other words, perceptions of prevalence tend to outstrip direct impact. That is not to say that the former are irrational or unrealistic, since respondents may well be aware of victimisation affecting their friends, family, neighbours or others living in the area.

It is also evident that of the four problems asked about, the one which affects most people, at least to some extent, is that of young people hanging around the street (mentioned by 54%, compared with between 32% and 45% for the other types of problem). This suggests that much of the 'youth crime' problem is actually accounted for by relatively low-level street disorder, arising from the congregation of young people in public places, rather than more specific forms of 'criminal behaviour'.

Table 10 - How much directly affected by different types of crime, by key variables

Note: Some categories not shown for reasons of space

Among the points to note about the way in which the direct effects of youth crime are patterned across different sub-groups are the following:

• With the exception of vandalism, those in the oldest age group are less likely than those in the youngest to say that they have been affected a great deal or quite a lot.
• Deprivation, tenure and degree of rurality are all correlated with being directly affected by each crime type, with those in areas of high deprivation and in social rented housing more likely to have been affected and those in remote rural areas least likely to have been.
• Across all the types of youth crime and disorder mentioned, those with the 'most negative' attitudes towards young people in general were much more likely to say they had been directly affected.

Crime-related anxiety

We have seen that youth crime in general is widely thought to be rising, and that specific problems associated with youth crime are seen as common by respondents. But we have also seen that there is a disjunction of sorts between such views and the proportion of adults who say they have been directly affected by various types of youth crime and disorder .

We now turn to the indirect consequences of such phenomena - specifically, the extent to which adults worry about becoming the victim of crime in general and the extent to which they alter their behaviour as a result of anxieties about young people in public places.

Respondents were asked how much they worried about becoming the victim of three main types of crime: housebreaking (the type of household crime which tends to have the greatest impact on victims); car crime (the most common form of victimisation); and assault (the type of victimisation that attracts the greatest public concern). They were also asked how much they worried that someone else they live with would be the victim of crime.

Table 11 - How much respondents worry about different types of crime

Note: 'Does not apply' responses ( e.g. non car-owners, people living alone) excluded from analysis.

Overall, people are most likely to say that they worry 'a great deal' or 'quite a lot' about having their home broken into or that someone they live with will be the victim of crime.

Table 12 - How much respondents worry about different types of crime, by key variables

Note: Some categories not shown for reasons of space.

'Does not apply' responses ( e.g. non car-owners, people living alone) excluded from analysis.

How consistent are such anxieties across different sections of the adult population? As the above table shows:

• Those in the oldest age group are significantly more likely than those in the youngest group to worry about each type of crime asked about (though the analysis here excludes those who said that the issue 'did not apply' - e.g. because they did not have a car, or lived alone - and the numbers of these are much higher in the oldest age group).
• Neither gender nor level of contact with young people are especially clear predictors of crime-related worry.
• But the area-based variables of deprivation, tenure and degree of rurality are all correlated with levels of worry, as is general orientation towards young people - those in the 'most negative' group are much more likely to report that they worry 'quite a lot' or 'a great deal' about each form of victimisation.

The survey also looked at the extent to which adults modify their behaviour as a result of anxieties about young people congregating in public places. Respondents were asked to imagine a situation in which they had to walk past a group of teenagers in order to get to a shop. They were then asked to indicate (from a list) how they might feel in that situation.

Table 13 - How respondents would feel about walking past group of teenagers

Although relatively few adults say that they would feel 'very' uncomfortable or avoid walking past the teenagers altogether, a sizeable minority say that they would feel slightly worried or uncomfortable. Indeed, more than half of all adults say they would be worried to some degree. Moreover, the proportion saying they would be very worried or avoid the teenagers altogether is markedly higher among particular sub-groups. Women were more likely than men - and older people more likely than younger people - to be worried. Those in areas of greater deprivation (21%) were twice as likely as those in areas of least deprivation (10%) to say they would be very worried or avoid walking past them altogether; while those in large urban area were three times as likely as those in remote rural areas to say the same (15% compared with 6%). Again, those with the 'most negative' attitudes towards young people exhibited much higher levels of anxiety - 19% saying they would be very worried or avoid walking past, compared with 8% of those in the 'least negative' group.

Willingness to intervene

One of the key features of an effective community is, arguably, its ability to regulate itself and to deal with minor conflicts without recourse to external agencies. To tap into this issue, the questionnaire included a scenario designed to test individual willingness to intervene in such situations. Respondents were asked to imagine a situation in which they saw a group of fourteen year-old boys they recognised damaging a bus shelter or other public property in their area. They were then asked how likely they would be to do the following things: challenge the boys directly at the time; talk to them later when they are on their own; speak to their parents about it later on; or contact the police

As the following table shows, the most likely course of action appears to be calling the police, rather than attempting to intervene directly or speaking to the boys or their parents later on.

Table 14 - How likely respondents would be to intervene in different ways

A majority of respondents thought it as either 'not very' or 'not at all' likely that they would attempt to speak to the boys at the time or later on, or attempt to speak to the boys parents. This confirms the hypothesis that people are generally more comfortable referring to an external agency, even in the case of relatively minor forms of crime.

Table 15 - How likely respondents would be to intervene in different ways, by key variables

Note: Some categories not shown for reasons of space

Among the variations worth noting here are:

• Not surprisingly, those who know most or all of the young people in their area are more likely to say they would intervene at the time, or speak to the boys or their parents later on.
• Men are more likely than women to say they would intervene at the time or speak to the boys later, but not to speak to the boys' parents.
• Those in the youngest age group are much less likely than those in the oldest to intervene in any way, and are much less likely in particular to say that they would call the police.
• Those in areas of greatest deprivation are more likely to say they would intervene at the time, but do not differ from those in areas of least deprivation in relation to the other possible courses of action.
• Those with 'more positive' views of young people are more likely to say they would intervene at the time, or speak to the boys or their parents later on; while those with 'more negative' views are more likely to say they would call the police.

What do people think causes youth crime and disorder?

We have seen that issues associated with young people figure prominently in adults' views of problems affecting their communities; that there is a widespread perception that youth crime is more prevalent than it was ten years ago; and that there is significant anxiety about youth crime and disorder. How, then, does the adult population make sense of such behaviour? More specifically, where do adults in Scotland tend to locate the causes of youth crime - with young people themselves, with their parents or teachers, or in broader social or structural factors (such as unemployment or the failures of the justice system)?

Respondents were shown a list of things people might say about why young people get into trouble and asked to identify the three that they think are the most relevant or important. The most commonly mentioned explanations were as follows:

1. Not enough discipline by parents (50%)
2. Pressure from friends & other young people (49%)
3. Drugs & alcohol (46%)
4. Not enough for them to do (36%)
5. Not enough care & attention from parents (34%)
6. Too few police on the streets (27%)
7. They're copying things from films, TV & music (19%)
8. Unemployment among young people (13%)
9. It's just what they do at that age (11%)
10. They have more money than sense (10%)

Overall, those with the 'most positive' views of young people in general are more likely to cite peer pressure, lack of things for young people to do and age. Those with the 'least positive' views are more likely to cite lack of parental discipline, too few police and drugs and alcohol. Lack of care and attention from parents was equally likely to be mentioned by either group.

Key points from this chapter

• Despite evidence to the contrary from crime statistics, there is a widespread perception (across all sections of the adult population) that the level of youth crime is higher than it was ten years ago.
• Specific youth crime-related problems are also thought to be very common in respondents' own areas.
• But this is not necessarily mirrored by direct experience of youth crime-related problems within the last twelve months.
• Perceptions of youth crime as rising and as being common in respondents' own areas, and various forms of crime-related anxiety, are all more common among people living in areas of greatest deprivation and those with 'more negative' views of young people in general.

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