A quarter of young people break the law

 

Last updated at 14:01pm on 19th December 2006

Seven per cent of all young people are frequent offenders

 

 

 

One in four young people aged between 10 and 25 committed a crime last year, a Home Office report has revealed.

This amounts to 2.8 million offenders of whom 1.6 million are 17 or under.

Seven per cent of all young people are frequent offenders who have committed at least six crimes in the last year and are responsible for more than four-fifths of all the youth offences.

 

Other figures show:

 

• Five per cent of young males carried a knife in the last year;

• Offending is higher among young men with 30 per cent of under 25s committing an offence;

• Peak ages for offending for boys are between 16 and 19, and for girls 14 to 15.

 

 

The findings will heighten concern about youth crime and in particular about the hard core of roughly 800,000 10- to 25-yearolds responsible for the vast majority of it.

Most common youth offences are assault (16 per cent) and theft (11 per cent). Of those who carried a knife, 85 per cent claimed it was for protection while nine per cent said it was in case they got into a fight. Even one per cent of 10- to 11-year-olds carry weapons.

Most common triggers of criminality are drug taking, friends or siblings in trouble, being drunk, anti-social behaviour or being a victim of crime themselves.

I broke the law last week. I regularly speed on the motorway.

I broke the law about 50-100 times last week. Online music.

Only once?

 

The motorway speed limit is 80 mph right?

The motorway speed limit is 70, but there's a 10% margin so technically it's 77.

i broke the law today. er...make that laws. brooke the speed limit, drove on the wrong side of the road, cut off a person, and snuck out of school (yesterday)...all to get to the orthodontist on time!

You bloody rebel!

I broke the law about 50-100 times last week. Online music.

i didn't regard myself in that quarter but now realising this and speeding are actual crimes...(eh i really don't overly speed which is why i don't take much notice that i'm committing a crime...when i do that is...which isn't very often at all)

 

besides that i'm a law-biding citisen i am :smug: lol and don't commit any crimes (that directly hurt anyone) so i shall sleep safe and sound tonight...that's if i don't get robbed by some 10-25 year old :shifty: