The rate of prosecuted crime among young people is very high because of two reason. Firstly, the group of youth especially young men commit such kind of crimes that compel people to register report or complain to the concerned authorities. Secondly, the faction of young offenders are assumed to be the prime suspect for committed crimes therefore, the groups of young offenders are frequently pursued by the criminal justice system.
The history of crime among youth is very long and complex. However, we will discuss two broader issues related to youth crime these include, the disorderly culture of youth and the procedures of justice for youth. Cox and Shore research suggest that, from 1500 to 1800 mostly young men and women were reported to be involved in riotous street cultures and gangs, they usually perpetrated crimes such as, theft, assault, vandalism, manslaughter and murder therefore, the ways of dealing with crimes committed by youth have been changed since 1800.
Geoff Pearson writes in his book “Hooligan” that, the juvenile delinquency is not a new problem within British society; it exist since many centuries and the rate or extent of delinquency has been the same in each generation among British youth. Moreover, he proved his hypothesis via pinpointing a long century disorderly conducts of British youth specifically, from the hooligan rioters of 1890 to the youth conservative government short, sharp programme of 1980s. Pearson believed that, crimes which are committed by the British youth of each generation over a long period of century are associated with familiar and recurring set of conducts such as, disorderly conduct in public space, disregard for societal values and reluctance to settle down. However, each adult generation believe that their social conduct was better than new generation of youth when they were young. Pearson defined this feeling or social phenomenon as inter-generational conflict or tension and course of life. The process of ageing experience led the adults to believe that they are unfamiliar with social conducts or social world of youth and consider youth behavior as a threat to established social norms and values or way of life.
Historian argue that, the debate on juvenile delinquency is going on long before the advent of industrialization. Youth crimes and disorder is the subject of European and British public discussion since 1500s. However, Griffith analysis suggest that, the wide range of measure had been taken against the disorderly conducts of youth in early modern England through, church, courts, employers and poor law enforcement agencies. Moreover other European studies explains that the within institution of family parents inflicted different type of punishments on children for their deviant behavior. Robert and Tikoff 2002 study suggest that parents particularly elites punished their children for misconducts such as, drinking, gambling, promiscuity and fighting in order to protect the good name of family. For instance Dutch parents sent their children for work in far places and Spanish parents sent their children to correctional orphanage for a long period of time in order to correct their behavior. These severe punishments explains that misconduct of youth was taken very seriously as well as highlight the fact that misconducts of young men and women was regulated by social institution by imposing negative sanctions within early European societies.
Modernization and urbanization introduced new kind of crimes and created more opportunities for youth crimes which also led to the reforms in criminal justice system as well as new responses to juvenile delinquency. The term juvenile delinquency was introduced as a result of high prosecution rate among youngsters (children and adolescent) in late eighteenth century. Researchers believe that, the rise in youth crimes emerged because of massive population growth; especially increase in the rate of people under the age of 30. The changes in apprenticeship due to industrialization and urbanization resulted in collapse of traditional values or traditional social control. In pre-industrial societies parents jobs skills and moral values were transmitted to children due to frequent interaction. Son was supposed to work with their father where he would learn his father business trait or job skills and would pursue the same career in future. Furthermore, it was also expected from son that he would get marry and fulfill his family responsibilities via the job skills he learned from his father. In traditional apprenticeship system parents were the prime source of children moral upbringing as apprentice. However, industrialization changed the system of apprenticeship, youngsters started to migrate to big urban cities for apprenticeship. This development led to the collapse of traditional social values — parental discipline was replaced by employer discipline or parental moral upbringing of apprentice was replace with employer moral upbringing.
Furthermore, urban migration led to the growth youth population cities though, that was not the only reason for increasing youth crimes. Social environment and structure urban cities was the major cause that contributed in the growth of juvenile delinquents prosecution rate. Firstly, urban town and cities provided many options to young people for leisure activities such as, gaming rooms, pubs and brothels. Secondly, formal norms (laws) were properly enforced by the concerned social institutions.
In early nineteenth century new ways was developed to deal with social problem juvenile delinquency. In west few of the new reforms in this area were — the cases of juvenile delinquents were moved to lower courts, the system of sending juvenile to adult jails was abolished and the creation of juvenile courts. 1880 onward non offender children were protect through child protection legislation. Those children who were abused or to be at risk of offending were put under the care of juvenile reformatories.
Until nineteenth century the studies on juvenile delinquency were focused on when and why this justice system was invented. Whereas, studies of twentieth century on juvenile delinquency are centered on the shift from justice (punishments for crimes) to welfare (meeting the needs of juvenile). Historian believed that, two elements have been involved in juvenile justice system since its conception. Since 1940 the disciplinarians believed that, abolishing corporal punishment from juvenile justice system is being too soft on offenders whereas, liberals believed that corporal punishment is not the way to rehabilitate young offenders, in order to rehabilitate young offender their casework should be handled by professional social workers and psychologists.
The new turn towards welfare was marked in 1970, when British conservative government enforced children and young person act of 1969. As a result care proceeding and residential care was preferred over corporal punishments and detention. The powers of magistrate was handed over to the social workers. The roots of shift towards liberalism are linked with post war political consensus and social policy issues.
Stan Cohen’s classic folk “Devil and Moral Panic” and Halls and Jefferson’s resistance through rituals are twentieth century most influential studies on youth subcultures. These studies focus on the social world and public presence of youth subcultures. They are similar to the early modernist studies of youth disorderly though, do not emphasize on youth law breaking. These studies have contributed a lot in the development of the criminology as formal discipline by providing a detail account of media role in negative portrayal of youth subcultures. The analysis suggest that, firstly media aid in constructing a negative image of youth subcultures secondly, it exaggerates negative effects of these subcultures on societies. However, the youth conducts which are negatively portrayed in media historically had minor rate of youth prosecutions. 1970 to 1980 when these studies was written, majority of youth was prosecuted for the crimes such as, car lifting, shop lifting, theft and vandalism. Since then anti-social behavior act was introduced which imposed ban of wearing hoodies at certain type public places such as shopping malls. This Act blurred the boundaries between youth subcultures and actual crimes.
Written by; Khushdil Khan Kasi
