It’s a boy thing
Still lost as to what causes juvenile crime? Two young offenders give a revealing insight into their mindset.
| Morally it’s not wrong to me. It’s just stuff everyone does. |
It's perfectly natural to get into trouble. If you don't, you must be royalty or something. For Winston, 16, dabbling in criminal activity is an intrinsic part of being a teenager. He says, If I ever found a teenage boy who didn't get into trouble I'd beat him up - just for being stupid.
His friend Mohammed, 14, takes a similar line: Teenage boys get up to the same kinds of mischief today that theyve always done. I do stuff the law says is illegal, but morally it's not wrong to me. It's just stuff everyone does.
In the fight against attitudes like these, the government has come down hard on parents. But teenagers are sceptical. They cite a lack of knowledge as just one major barrier: Do kids do things their parents don't know about? Of course they do, says Mohammed, claiming his parents don't have a clue about his activities even though they have attracted the attention of the police.
Teenagers reluctance to play ball is another. Winston says theres too much at stake: My guardian would kick me out of my house if she knew what I really did. But I'm really sweet to her.
Todays kids also feel fiercely independent and dont share the governments ideals about parental roles. Mohammed explains, As soon as I walk out the door my parents responsibility ends. It's up to me what I do. I don't do it because my parents have treated me wrong. I think my parents are really good parents.
While a third of men in Britain have a criminal record, their younger successors seem determined to risk swelling their ranks. Everyone is going to get done by the police at some time in their life, even if they just get pulled in but not done, says Mohammed.
Names have been changed
About the team
This article was produced by Daniel Blackwood, 18, Stuart Fletcher, 17, and Mehrak Golestani, 16. It was published in Local Government Voice Solo.
