Research into criminal and anti-social behaviour carried out by a team including ISER’s Steve Pudney has been published by the Home Office.
Longitudinal Analysis of the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 2003-06 presents longitudinal analysis of self reported data on offending, drug use and anti-social behaviour amongst young people (initially aged 10 to 25) from the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey, which was carried out annually between 2003 and 2006.
The report identifies a small group of young people who are ‘prolific offenders’ and who account for a disproportionate number of offences, including serious offences. The authors recommend that this group should be a key target for policy intervention on youth crime in the future.
The analysis also finds that anti-social behaviour is a precursor to offending for some young people and suggests that in some cases, early intervention targeting young people involved in anti-social behaviour might help to reduce the likelihood of offending later on.
Other recommendations include:
- Further consideration of enhancing schools’ disciplinary policies, as the report finds that weak school discipline is related to an increased likelihood of offending and drug use.
- Further examination of the significance of peer groups, whether siblings or friends, as an influence. The report supports previous findings emphasising co-offending as a feature of youth crime and raises the question of whether it would be possible to intervene to disrupt the spread of offending between peers.
The report was co-authored by Steve Pudney of ISER and Jon Hales, Camilla Nevill and Sarah Tipping from the National Centre for Social Research (NATCEN).