The Relationship Between Age & Crime (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Official statistics on age & crime

• There is a clear link between age and offending behaviour, with young people (especially males) more likely to engage in criminal activity than older people

• Young offenders typically commit less serious crimes, such as theft, vandalism and handling stolen goods

• According to the Youth Justice Board (2024), between April 2022 and March 2023:

  • stop and searches of children aged 10-17 years increased by 13% and accounted for over one in five of the total stop and searches

  • arrests of children increased by 9% compared with the previous year

  • police cautions for 10-14 year olds increased by 6%, while for 15-17 year olds they decreased by 7%

• Young people are more likely to reoffend compared to adults (Ministry of Justice, 2022)

The age crime curve

• The age crime curve shows that crime rates rise sharply during the teenage years, peak in the late teens to early 20s, and then decline as people age

• Young people are more likely to be involved in street-based crime due to their social lifestyles and peer group influence

• As people grow older, responsibilities such as work and family life reduce the opportunity and motivation to commit crime

Patterns of victimisation by age

• 16 to 24-year-olds are most likely to be victims of crime (CSEW data)

• Older adults (75+) are less likely to be victims but often fear crime more, especially fraud and scams

  • Age UK (2019) found that over half of over-65s believed they had been targeted by fraudsters

• Children and young people are also vulnerable — the NSPCC reports that recorded sexual and cruelty offences against children have doubled since 2002

Explanations for the link between age & crime

Moral panics and media stereotypes

• Sociologists such as Geoffrey Pearson (1983) argue that youth crime has always been a public concern, with older generations believing young people are worse behaved than before

• The media often exaggerates youth offending, creating moral panics — periods of public anxiety about supposed increases in youth crime

• Stuart Hall (1979) noted that the media in the 1970s exaggerated reports of “muggings”, portraying young Black men as dangerous to divert attention from economic problems

• Modern moral panics continue around issues like knife crime and antisocial behaviour

Excitement

• Young people may commit crime for thrills or excitement — rule-breaking gives them an adrenaline rush and a sense of rebellion

• Peer pressure and boredom can increase the appeal of deviant behaviour

Inadequate socialisation

• Functionalists argue that crime among young people results from poor socialisation and weak social control

  • Parents may fail to teach appropriate norms and values, or may not supervise their children effectively

  • Other agents of socialisation (schools, religion, media) may also fail to reinforce norms and boundaries

• The New Right perspective (Murray, 1998) adds that an underclass has developed where children lack discipline and strong male role models, especially in fatherless families

Cohen's subcultural theory

• Functionalist sociologist Cohen (1955) argued that working-class boys experience status frustration because they fail to achieve success at school and in work

• In response, they form delinquent subcultures, gaining status from breaking rules rather than following them

• Delinquency is therefore a group response to social inequality and middle-class values

• Examples include truancy, vandalism and violence, which provide an alternative route to success and peer respect

Criticisms of Cohen’s subcultural theory

• Cohen assumes working-class boys share middle-class goals, which may not be true

• His theory ignores female delinquency and cannot be generalised to girls

• Labelling theorists argue that youth crime statistics reflect who gets caught, not who offends

• Some critics say Cohen overlooks free will — not all working-class boys turn to crime despite similar experiences

Evaluation of the relationship between age & crime

Strengths

• The age crime curve helps explain why offending peaks in youth and declines as people take on adult responsibilities

• Functionalist and subcultural theories (Cohen, Murray) provide clear explanations of how socialisation and peer groups influence delinquency

• Research highlights how media stereotypes and moral panics exaggerate youth crime, encouraging discussion about bias and labelling

Criticisms

• Functionalist views overlook structural inequalities such as poverty, unemployment, and educational failure

• Media-based explanations may exaggerate the scale of youth crime when most offences are minor and temporary