Resources: Review - What the public really thinks of youth crime

This important study is one of the first attempts to drill deeper into public attitudes towards youth crime and the youth justice system. Two key findings stand out. First, the public is demonstrably ill-informed, with many believing youth crime is on the increase, that most crime is committed by young people, and that more than two-fifths of youth crime involves violence. Official statistics, notorious and contestable as they may be, suggest a very different picture, one that is far less of a cause for concern.

Secondly, though most people were generally inclined to call for the youth justice system to be tougher on young offenders - unsurprisingly, given their starting assumptions - many expressed support for more rehabilitative approaches when provided with detail on specific cases. They leaned towards favouring more discipline in schools, and backed education, treatment and work programmes for young offenders in custody. Although they often thought the courts were too lenient, they conveyed strong support for non-custodial options when fuller personal details about young offenders were supplied.