Understanding Youth Crime: An Australian Study (Routledge Revivals)

This title was first published in 2003. Adolescence is popularly understood as a transitional phase of turbulence and extremes. It is also often associated with 'trouble'. Criminal justice statistics, however, reveal that youth criminality remains a relatively rare phenomenon, less than one percent of the total adolescent population in any given year. This exceptional book is based upon a major Australian research programme to consider the key social factors impacting upon the lives of young people. A sample of 1,300 young people was divided into three major subgroups: a 'control' group, drawn from state secondary schools and closely approximating the general population; a chronically marginalized cohort representing a 'vulnerable group', and a group of offenders, most of whom were incarcerated at the time of the research. With its rich data source and highly integrated structure, the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of adolescent criminality and associated policy both in Australia and internationally.

John S. Western is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Australia. Mark Lynch is Deputy Director of the Research and Prevention Division, Crime and Misconduct Commission, Australia. Emma Ogilvie is Principal Policy Officer in Criminal Justice Research at the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in the Queensland Government.