Crime: the numbers game
Good news about the crime figures for England and Wales yesterday, wasn't it? According to the double-page headline in the Daily Mail: "A knife attack every 4 minutes."
Sorry, wrong headline. But even The Guardian found something to worry about: "Crime rates expected to soar as economic difficulties deepen." Same figures, different headlines. Confused? So am I.
Here's how the Home Office put it in its announcement yesterday: "Crime in England and Wales fell by ten per cent since the previous year according to the 2007/08 British Crime Survey, and fell by nine per cent according to police recorded crime statistics."
Over the same period, said the Home Office, the risk of becoming a victim of crime has fallen from 24 to 22 per cent, and both overall crime and the risk of victimisation are now at their lowest ever levels since 1981. Violent crime, vandalism and vehicle-related thefts have all fallen (by 12 per cent, 10 per cent, and 11 per cent) and domestic burglary has remained stable.
Which all sounds pretty encouraging, doesn't it? So why, in heaven's name, do we read almost every other day of another ghastly knife crime, resulting in the death of another teenager on a city street? Well, for one thing, the survey on which these latest statistics are based doesn't talk to people under the age of 16 - so they will be of scant comfort to the families of Sunday Essiet, Amro Elbadawi, Lyle Tulloch, Arsema Dawit and David Idowu, to name but five of London's 21 knife murder victims so far this year. (The Home Office is now considering extending the remit of the British Crime Survey to include under 16s.)
And of course, our perception of crime (two-thirds of us think crime rates are going up) does not stem from a cool analysis of the latest official data: we read the papers, we watch the telly, and we gossip over the garden fence. And fear of crime can be nearly as damaging to the social fabric as crime itself.
As it happens, I was chairing a debate organised by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at Kings College, London, last night, to discuss the government's record on youth crime. (Its new Youth Crime Action Plan published earlier this week promised another £100 million "to stop young people from starting lives of crime" - to be spent on better prevention and support for victims; expansion of family intervention projects; and increasing the number of ASBOs and parenting orders.)
What the record shows is that since Labour came to power 11 years ago, the amount of money pumped into the youth justice system has gone up by no less than 45 per cent in real terms. Over the past few years, the number of first-time young offenders has dropped slightly - by about five per cent - but overall the youth crime picture hasn't changed much. So what happened to all the cash?
Well, most of it seems to have gone on keeping young offenders behind bars. Only about one-third has been spent on the sort of social welfare programmes that youth justice practitioners believe are most likely to reduce the number of young offenders.
Talk to the professionals, and they tell you that many young offenders are themselves victims, whether of abuse in the home or of crime outside it. They may have mental health problems, they may be homeless, or alcohol or drug abusers - yes, they need to be punished if they offend, but they also need help. And sometimes, perhaps, as with parenting orders, it's not clear whether what's on offer is meant as a punishment or as help. (We're going to be discussing some of these issues on tonight's programme, by the way.)
So what would you do about youth crime?
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Less demonising, less categorizing. At that age, you're exploding with hormones and facing life-defining exams at school - one slip and your life may never bloom again.
Perhaps Gcse's should be pushed back, out of this volcanic phase.
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A thoughtful and balanced presentation from Robin, which reflects well the range of the discussion last night (that I was at). The size of the 'spend' on custody should be better known, along with the known re-offending rate - I suspect the public would say if the much vaunted 'business' principles, currently in vogue, were applied then it would be shut down.
Youth Crime is a complex issue often with individuals responding to totally irrational social situations in ways which result in rational, instrumental outcomes.
I would draw bloggers attention to Anrew Bridges (the Chief Insoector of Probation who has the brief for inspection of Youth Offending Teams) saying last week on the Today programme that we need less of the 'new initiatives' and more of the daily, mundane, slow slog that actually brings sustainable change in an individual's life and means crime is a thing of the past.
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If you want to tackle youth crime, you must start by fostering marriage and family life in which children are brought up in a disciplined and loving household.
The first pre school years are critical. My neice, a primary school teacher, has told me that some children arrive at school unable to follow simple instructions because of poor parental discipline. Such children are destined to be slow learners and/or difficult and disruptive children. And it is more than likely the yobs of tomorrow will be drawn from this group.
We must as a society encourage marriage, encourage responsible parenthood and parental discipline and give teachers the tools they need to maintain discipline in class.
Parents for their part must play their part in backing the school as education remains the best way for a better (and crime free) life for all concerned.
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It seems to me there are essentially two aspects to youth crime, each of which needs to be addressed, and funded, seperately.
First, there is prevention by early intervention at family and school level. It should be at this level that not only so-called rights of the individual are alluded to, but more importantly, responsibilities, so that it is fully understood that rights are not like free sweets...they must be earned.
Secondly, at the criminal justice level, the great and ongoing debates around incarceration, asbo's, commnity orders, etc seems to ignore the obvious. Whilst those on the soft left such as Harriet Harmen enjoy speaking of human rights, and pressure groups insist "prison doesn't work", and those purporting to represent the majority of us who choose not to break the law, bend and sway with the latest protestations of yet another human rights lawyer or activist, the growing menace of youth violence has infiltrated and stained more of our communities.
We need laws which reflect old fashioned common sense, and the views and concerns of the wider law-abiding citizen. Might I suggest a zero tolerance policy, such as that proposed by Ray Mallon not too long ago? Accompanied perhaps by meaningful prison sentences for both violent and repeat offenders...which would also lead to large drops in the population of overcowded prisons, as sentences would once again become the very real deterrents they once were?
Regards.
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