Reflection
Preventing youth offending requires the involvement of all those surrounding the child, mutual cooperation and supportive relationships. This is a major challenge in a society where mental health problems are intensifying. Communication between young people, parents and teachers has become increasingly strained over time. There is much blame, misunderstanding, burnout, resignation and withdrawal.
What could be three supportive steps towards a safer society?
1. Changing attitudes and mindsets. A persistent view remains that what happens within the family is a private matter. There is also a widespread belief that young people inclined towards problem behaviour are themselves to blame and should be punished. Professionals working in the field understand that these are most often children in need of support, but the wider public does not. Young people are also stigmatised within the school environment, where teachers’ level of awareness may be high, yet attitudes and mindsets do not always reflect this awareness.
2. Cooperation and trusting relationships. The school environment is a central factor in preventing youth offending, but its potential has not been sufficiently utilised. Schools could become places where young people wish to spend time even when they are not required to attend – for example, during holidays. This requires cooperative and supportive relationships among all parties. Schools cannot improve in isolation from changes within the community, including at municipal level, as the problems surrounding children are interconnected. Involving families and the wider community in school life is important, as it helps promote shared understanding and common goals.
Children may hesitate to burden those close to them with their worries and can therefore be left to face their concerns alone, even in otherwise supportive families. One possible solution would be to establish a national system of trusted persons.
Both in schools and in the wider community, the use of restorative justice methods29 could help improve relationships. State-trained restorative justice volunteers could be made readily available and involved when needed.
3. A clearer focus on families with young children at risk. To ensure that children grow up in developmentally supportive environments, legislation could more firmly require parents to accept assistance, rather than leaving this entirely to their discretion. As an alternative to separating children from their families, parents could be directed, for a specified period, to participate with their children in supported services aimed at developing parenting skills. The early years are crucial for child development, as intensive brain development occurs and is directly shaped by the child’s relationships. Infants are not capable of coping independently with stress-inducing situations and require a secure adult who provides physical closeness. A child who experiences neglect does not develop secure attachment to a caregiver. This is one of the main reasons why many children in residential care experience mental health problems, which in turn lead to behavioural disorders and difficulties in social interaction.
Difficulties originating at home often lead to problems with school attendance, and when young people do not find understanding in their immediate environment, they seek acceptance elsewhere. They may join groups where drug use and offending are prevalent. It is therefore essential to support families early and systematically through social and psychological services.
If crime prevention remains solely the responsibility of law enforcement authorities, its impact will be limited. Without investing more effectively in prevention, society will continue to respond retrospectively to accumulating problems, which is more time-consuming and costly.
