Why is the programme necessary?
Official records and research studies show that individuals are more likely to break the law when they are young. The ‘peak’ ages at which they are most likely to offend are between 15 and 19. Criminal involvement typically starts before the age of 15, but declines markedly once young people reach their 20’s. However, young people who become involved in crime at the earliest ages - before they are 14 - tend to become the most persistent offenders, with longer criminal careers.
Whilst Jersey enjoys relatively low levels of crime and the majority of our young people are law-abiding and honest citizens, youth offending plays a significant part in analysis of crime patterns in Jersey shows a strong correlation between youth offending and overall crime.
In 2002, under-18s were responsible for over a third of all detected crime in Jersey, with the most prolific offenders being aged between 14 and 17. This was flagged up as a concern at the time because the population of 14 – 17 year olds was forecast to grow by 14% between 2001 and 2006 and not revert to former levels for more than a decade. This gave rise to concern that demographic change alone could exert incremental upward pressure on crime levels in Jersey.
Correlation between Recorded and Youth Crime 2004
Source: States of Jersey Police Performance Report: January – June 2005.
Two years on, these concerns appeared to be borne out by the crime figures, which depicted a worsening picture of youth crime in Jersey. In 2004, youths aged under 18 committed 41% of detected crime in the Island. 26% of all known offenders were in this age group. The graph shows the strong correlation between recorded crime in 2004 and detected offences known to have been committed by 14-17 year olds.
These startling statistics bring home the point that focussing energy and resources into tackling youth offending has the potential to have a significant impact on the quality of life in our Island.
It is therefore encouraging to note that, despite continuing growth in the 14-17 year old population, the statistics on youth crime in Jersey have shown some positive signs over the past two years. In 2006, the proportion of crime committed by youths aged under-18 fell back to below 34%.
It is particularly encouraging to note that the number of children aged under 14 who were caught committing criminal offences was nearly 30% down on the average for 2002-04.
Whilst we are not attributing success in promoting behavioural change to any one initiative, and it is too early to state with confidence that this represents lasting change, we believe that PMNW alongside a variety of other preventative work with young people is playing its part in affecting behaviour change amongst up and coming generations as they enter their formative years.
The impact of PMNW also goes beyond its effect on any one child. Young people who engage in criminal and disruptive behaviour not only undermine their own chances of success in life but they can also prevent other children from realising their potential, contribute to a community sense of insecurity and impose costs on our society. It is our responsibility as good corporate citizens and parents and grandparents to ensure that does not happen.
The PMNW scheme gives young people information to enable them to make informed life choices to help them grow into responsible citizens and hopefully reduce the devastating effects of criminal behaviour on our society. In Jersey we have an ‘ageing’ population and our youth are our future, if we do not invest in them, what future do we have?
