TY - JOUR
T1 - Representing and Preventing Youth Crime and Disorder: Intended and Unintended Consequences of Targeted Youth Programmes in England
AU - Kelly, L.
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Drawing on a qualitative study conducted in England, this article argues that targeted youth projects often benefit participants, but over-stating their ability to prevent crime and ‘anti-social behaviour’ can be problematic. Voluntary services with limited resources ultimately focus on receptive young people, but pressure to justify funding encourages practitioners, programme managers and policy-makers to highlight the ‘riskiness’ of participants and publicize the most striking successes. Such practices can serve to consolidate negative representations of the risk posed by young people (or ‘define deviance up’) and give credence to the notions of choice and intractability that underpin punitive policies. Meanwhile, alternative justifications for youth provision are silenced.
AB - Drawing on a qualitative study conducted in England, this article argues that targeted youth projects often benefit participants, but over-stating their ability to prevent crime and ‘anti-social behaviour’ can be problematic. Voluntary services with limited resources ultimately focus on receptive young people, but pressure to justify funding encourages practitioners, programme managers and policy-makers to highlight the ‘riskiness’ of participants and publicize the most striking successes. Such practices can serve to consolidate negative representations of the risk posed by young people (or ‘define deviance up’) and give credence to the notions of choice and intractability that underpin punitive policies. Meanwhile, alternative justifications for youth provision are silenced.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84863754079&partnerID=MN8TOARS
U2 - 10.1177/1473225412447160
DO - 10.1177/1473225412447160
M3 - Article
SN - 1473-2254
VL - 12
JO - Youth Justice
JF - Youth Justice
IS - 2
ER -