I was actually agreeing with you with regards to these particular youths. It was too late for them - any intervention that could have had an impact on these events would have had to take place when they were much younger. However by learning from what has happened might mean that we can reduce the frequency and severity of further such attacks.
Although I know that I’ve read stuff in the papers about attempts to reduce juvenile crime by providing what I termed “distractions” (i.e. activities to get kids off the streets, get them involved in something and thereby have them develop social skills and bond within a group and therefore be less likely to partake in anti-social behaviour), I don’t have any specific sources as I don’t work in this sort of area. So I googled “prevention of juvenile crime” and came up with a Home Office report which, although I only skimmed it (due to time constraints), does seem to bear out some of what EL and I are suggesting. The study focussed on car crime, shoplifting and burglary, not including assaults, however if we are talking about a culture of anti-social behaviour in which all these activities play a part, I see no reason why you couldn’t extrapolate. Much of the anti-social behaviour was done to gain peer respect. Here are some passages (my emphases):
What I meant by a subtle change was that small changes can have big effects. Thus if even a small proportion of young men in, I guess the 12-14 age group, or maybe younger, can be taught how to behave to the opposite sex (and each other) through dancing or any other activity, then their attitudes may ripple out through their peers. At the moment, it’s only the negative changes that are adopted by our society, hence the downward spiral in behaviour in both boys and girls.Shoplifting (occurred mainly on Saturdays)
Apart from a small number of juveniles from both Greater Manchester and Kirklees who said they played organised sport, the remainder seemed to have little else to interest them on this day. There is therefore scope for the multi-agency groups to develop activities capable of diverting local juveniles from the major shopping centres on Saturdays. Both boys and girls should be catered for and the activities must account for the need for status, excitement and the need to simply meet together, particularly among those in the 13 – 15 age group. The wide availability of Saturday morning cinemas once met this need, although a more sophisticated approach is probably necessary these days, and afternoons also need to be considered.
Car crime
The multi-agency group decided that measures to provide offenders with status and positive reinforcement of acceptable behaviour need to be carried out before they are drawn into this type of crime. The measures required need to be such as to encourage young people to “feel good” about themselves and, later, to be less likely to need the support the sub-group activity of car crime seems to offer. A small number of questionnaire respondents reported that they participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme(7).
Eliciting crime prevention measures from the juvenile crime profile
Peer group pressure (including status seeking) emerged as a strong thread running through a wide range of the juvenile offending reported in this study. Confronting this issue directly however (eg. by trying to encourage greater independence in the young), is a difficult proposition. Nor is it clear that the effects of peer group pressure among groups of young people are wholly undesirable. There is, for example, an argument for trying to direct peer pressure to the social and individual good, as is perhaps the case within sports clubs, the pursuit of hobbies, helping elderly and disabled people or similar forms of constructive behaviour.
It is likely that there will always be a level of criminal and antisocial behaviour in the young (even the report I quote starts off accepting this). But we need to find some way to ameliorate this. Neither EL or I are suggesting that teaching kids to dance is “the answer”. There are many more important interventions, particularly in teaching parenting skills. But dancing with its need for physical prowess, and skill as well social interaction (I’m talking all types of dancing, not just partner dancing) could have a place.
Bookmarks