Understanding Youth Crime and Supporting Young People

Please note: this content was originally produced for Australia but is relevant for practitioners globally.

Like many other places in the world, Australia is grappling with an increase in youth crime. According to figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, youth offending rates increased by 6% in the 12 months to June 2023, with reoffending rates also on the rise. Two thirds of offenders were male and the vast majority (80%) were aged between 14 and 17.

Factors driving youth crime

The reasons for youth crime are complex and often involve a complicated combination of factors. These include, but are not limited to: poverty and deprivation; domestic violence and abuse; mental health issues; special educational needs; and for many First Nation and migrant families, systemic racism and intergenerational trauma.

Many of those caught up in criminal behaviour are often at a disadvantage from birth and are amongst the most vulnerable in society. The trauma they experience in childhood can go on to shape the way they view the world and their place within it, leading some to feel so marginalised that they believe crime is their only option.

Problem with taking a ‘tough’ approach to youth crime

Officials in government are divided on the best way to reduce youth crime, with different territories and states adopting different approaches to tackling the problem. For example, the Northern Territory government has moved to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10-years-old, and in July 2024, Queensland’s opposition party announced its, ‘adult crime, adult time’ policy, proposing longer sentences for young people, to act as a deterrent.

However, evidence points to the fact that harsher punishments are often ineffective and may even exacerbate the likelihood of a person reoffending. A tough, punitive approach also raises difficult ethical questions around the incarceration of children for any length of time, regardless of their age or crime.

Of course, youth crime does need to be addressed: communities are being blighted, families are being devastated, and young people’s lives are being ruined. So, what is the alternative?

Rather than focusing solely on ‘cracking down’ on crime through deterrents, tougher punishments, or lowering the age of criminal responsibility, to effect longer-term change, we need to understand why young people are becoming caught up in crime in the first place.

Only then can we seek to tackle the underlying causes, take decisive, co-ordinated action to prevent offending and reoffending, and build safer communities for all – now and in the future.

Supporting young people at risk of being involved in youth crime

As professionals working in education, health and social care, what can we practicably do to support our vulnerable young people and help them avoid becoming involved in criminality?