Patterns of Crime: Age

Patterns of Crime: Age

1. Official Statistics, Age and Crime

   • Unlike the race and social class categories of offenders, there are few doubts about the accuracy and recording of official statistics on convictions with reference to age
   • Age and date of birth data is widely used on official statistics as part of a person's official identity
   • It is also legally significant because under the age of 10, children cannot be convicted of a crime as they below the legal age of responsibility
   • Over the age of 1o, and until their 18th birthday, children can be taken to court but they are treated differently to adults
   • They are dealt with by youth courts, given different forms of sentencing and sent to special units for young people rather than to adult prisons
   • Over the age of 18, people are treated as adults by law but they do not go to full adult prison until they are 25
   • They go to prisons designed for young adults
   • Youth offending is often commonly referred to as 'delinquency' in sociology
   • Youth Offending
     • The significance of youth offending can be seen by the fact that according o the Office of National Statistics data for 2011/12, people aged 10-17 accounted for more than 13% of all arrests but only 10% of the population
     • They are therefore over-represented in criminal justice data because there are alternatives to arrest which are also used in order to avoid young people becoming part of the formal criminal justice system and at risk of repeat offending
     • These include:
       • anti-social behaviour orders for low-level disruptive behaviours, issued by the police but requested by other official bodies and members of the public
       • reprimands warnings and cautions issued by the police
       • an 'on the spot fine' or penalty noticed for disorder issued by police to people over the age of 16 and is no recorded on their criminal record
       • triage schemes operated by the police and members of youth offending teams which encourage restorative justice and discourage unnecessary criminalisation
     • Thus, there has been a steady fall in youth offending sentencing in the UK and young people held in custody
     • The statistic averaged 1544 at one time in 2012/13
     • This is resulting in fewer repeat offences for those on the margins of criminality
     • Owen and Cooper (2013) in a report for the Home Office found that most first offences carried out by young people were acquisitive, such as theft and robbery
     • 21% were violence and only 10% were viewed as serious crimes
     • However, those who had committed robbery, car theft or burglary as first offences were more likely to become chronic repeat offenders
     • Many of those went on to commit very serious crimes within 9 years, including further robbery, sexual violence or violence
     • However, these 5% of the short went on to become chronic offenders were responsible for more than 50% of all further proven offences
   • Adult Offending
     • Not all offences go to court, particularly for less serious for first time offending
     • 67% of offending is dealt with by fines and another 12% of offending results in community sentencing
     • Only 8% results in immediate sentence to prison, and another 4% in over 3 years; 57% of adults go to prison for relatively short sentences of under 6 months
     • Adults in prison are often repeat offenders or those with substance abuse issues
     • The rate of reoffending varies from region to region, with Wales having a reoffending rate of 27% and 3 offences per person
     • Cardiff, however, has a reoffending rate of 31% and 3.2 offences per person
     • This is a higher reoffending rate than London, which has reoffending rate of 26% and 3 offences per person

2. Age and Victimisation Data

   • Despite popular beliefs, the Crime Survey of England and Wales 2012/13 found that younger people were more likely to be victims of crime than older people
   • 8.4% of young people aged 16-24 reported experiencing victimisation from violent crime but only 0.2% of those over 75
   • The most victimised group was young men
   • Poorer people were likely to be victimised by burglary, so young people in private rented accommodation without security experienced this crime; this was also true of cars
   • Young people were particularly likely to experience 'snatch' or 'stealth' theft when out of the home, items such as portable electronics being popular with thieves