When we read the newspapers or watch the news we can get the idea that young people are out of control. It seems like they are committing more and more crime, that the offences are getting more serious, and that the punishments given out to them are too soft.
But the media uses extreme language, which scares people. They use statistics and polls in a misleading way to make people think things are worse than they really are and they only report bad news.
When it comes to reporting youth crime, the media is twisting the truth.
In fact, under-18s commit only a small amount of all crime – in some places as little as 5%. Also, most crimes by young people are things like theft and vandalism, not serious and violent crimes. Despite this more young people than ever are being locked up – even though other punishments, like community sentences, usually work better in stopping people offending again.
Politicians should be setting people straight. In fact, they often just make things worse. They want to get votes so they say what people want to hear – that they’re going to be tough on youth crime. Instead of giving young people are fair deal, they bring in harsh laws and punishments to show they’re not letting young offenders get away with it. Sometimes they even break international agreements on how young people should be treated.
When people are told the truth, they tend to agree that improving education and parenting are as important as punishment. They can see that alternatives to locking young people up are more effective. The trouble is, they hardly ever have the chance to find out the truth.
Funded by the European Commission
