This struck me as particularly poignant in light of the recent focus onyouth crime, in particular knife crime. Hardly a day seems to passwithout a story about some teenage "yob" having stabbed another youngperson, of gangs roaming the streets, threatening violence. Thegovernment seems desperate and the public afraid. But does this reallyreflect the reality of Britain today?
In 2005/06, 301,860 offences were committed by under-18s. The mostcommon crime was theft and handling. This represented a fall fromprevious years in crimes committed. And yet convictions rose by 26 percent. Around 2,900 young people have been locked up in the past yearalone - children as young as 10 are deemed criminally responsible, anage declared unacceptable internationally. The public doesn't seem tothink it is working. A report, Criminal Damage, from the Prison ReformTrust (PRT) published last month found only one in 10 people thinksprison turns young offenders into law-abiding citizens while two inthree of more than 1,000 polled think that prisons are "universities ofcrime".
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