Young people ‘live in fear of attack’

Fifty per cent of neighbourhood crime is committed by young people,
the chief executive of Crime Concern told a youth crime conference
last week.

Nigel Whiskin said about 70 per cent of police evening work
involves youth nuisance and youth crime, and fire chiefs also make
similar complaints.

A quarter of young people are arrested by the age of 18, but one in
six young people has been a recent victim of crime, Whiskin said.
Fifty per cent of victims of mobile phone theft are younger than 17
while half of the mobile phone offenders are in the same age
group.

“All young men are fearful of physical assault in places where they
should feel safe, such as schools,” Whiskin told the conference in
London. “What shocked us was that almost all young women over 12
are fearful of sexual attacks.”

There are a number of building blocks in the solution such as early
intervention and the youth justice reforms, he said, adding that
“the youth justice system is near to getting as good as it
gets”.

Other parts of the solution include working with youth victims,
community youth crime prevention and using models that work.

“Partnerships aren’t the important thing, it’s what partnerships do
that counts,” Whiskin said.