The effect of poverty on youth crime in the UK

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research became possible only because of support from my research supervisor and my loved ones. Hence, I would like to say thanks for their support.

DECLARATION

This research is my own work and does not represent the ideas of the university. This project belongs to me and only me.

ABSTRACT

In this study we try to explore the concept of poverty and youth crime in UK in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on relation between poverty and youth crime in UK. The research also analyzes many aspects of poverty and tries to gauge its effect on youth crime. The methodology covers the research design and data collection tools regarding the poverty and youth crime. Results were based on the data being analyzed in methodology. Finally the research describes how poverty stimulates crime among youth and tries to describe the overall effect of poverty on youth crime. The paper concludes by mentioning the implications and future aspects regarding poverty and youth crime.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Problem statement2

Research Objective2

Research question3

Significance of the Study3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW4

Youth Crimes and Present Justice System of UK4

Economic Deprivation and Youth Crime Poverty4

Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas (Creswell 2009)9

Wilson's Theory of Concentrated Disadvantage12

Comparison of London's Richest Boroughs with Poorest Boroughs12

Macroeconomic Conditions and Violent Crime13

Relation between Causes of Crime and Poverty14

Summary18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY19

Different research approaches19

Dialectical approach19

Empirical approach19

Functionalist approach19

Structuralist approach20

Secondary research20

Search Strategy23

Literature Search23

Ethical Viewpoint24

Reliability/Dependability24

Triangulation25

Validity27

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS29

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION36

BIBLIOGRAPHY40

APPENDIX43

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Multidisciplinary research has widely documented the detriments of economic deprivation for child and adolescent well-being; it has been linked to a number of family and child outcomes that adversely affect youth welfare and adjustment including inadequate parenting, poor family functioning, cognitive and academic deficits, emotional and behavioural problems, and poor physical health (MacDonald 2005). For instance, criminologists like Young, Wacquant and others have established numerous theoretical and empirical connections between economic deprivation and youth crime via family, community, and social processes that affect the socialization and regulation of youth behaviour (Young and Wacquant 2009). Despite a vast body of knowledge on the effects of economic deprivation on youth, there is still much to learn about this relationship (Young and Wacquant 2009). Past research has paid little attention to the effects of larger economic and social policy changes on youth violence trends, and even less is known about these effects on youth sub-groups such as racial and ethnic minorities, married couple and female-headed family members, etc. This research will utilize the wealth of demographic and victimization data available describing relationship between poverty and youth crime to address this specific issues.

According to Anderson (1999), an additional advantage of the child poverty rate for the purposes of this research is its relationship with macroeconomic conditions. As measured by the unemployment rate, for example, the state of the economy is an important determinant of child poverty rates. More importantly, there has been a close historical association between changes in the unemployment and child poverty rate that ...