Solving the Youth Crime ‘Problem' | Stephen Case | TEDxLoughboroughU

The youth crime ‘problem’ is examined as a social construction and moral panic created by institutions in Western societies. The talk traces the evolution of youth crime into a phenomenon persistently misrepresented as an escalating social epidemic. The developmental life stages of ‘childhood’ and ‘adolescence’ as inventions are explored, highlighting differences between young people and adults. In this way, ‘youth crime’ can be identified as a social problem requiring distinct responses. A running theme is the child as a source of adult anxiety and fear, motivating societies to create structures, processes, theories and images of youth crime that punish law breakers. The ‘solution’ is the ‘positive youth justice’ model. Children should not be punished as if they are adults but their criminal behaviour should be seen as a normal part of growing up. Instead, they should be worked with to meet their needs, to embrace their human rights and to promote their life chances.

Steve Case is a criminologist focused on improving the treatment of children and young people who commit crime. He has been a lecturer, researcher and writer in the field of youth justice for 15 years, working mainly at Swansea University and now as a Professor of Criminology at Loughborough University. Steve has conducted research for the government agencies and large-scaled funding bodies and has written two books, several book chapters and over 50 research articles that critique the negative focus of much contemporary youth justice practice and that offer an alternative model 'positive' approach known as 'Children First, Offenders Second'.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx