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The Nature of Youth Crime

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Youth Criminal Justice Policy in Canada

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Criminology ((BRIEFSCRIMINOL))

Abstract

This chapter examines some important aspects of what we know about the quality and quantity of youth crime. One of the key arguments is that there are severe limitations associated with official sources of data for certain types of crimes, thus reducing our confidence in fully understanding the nature and level of youth crime in Canada. Keeping these limitations in mind, the chapter shows that youth are not getting more violent and that a significant contributor to the perception of increased youth violence lies in the category of common assault which is sensitive to changes in official responses to youths behavior. The chapter also examines the relevance of categories such as “race,” class, and gender.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 55 Bond Street East, Oshawa, Ontario, L1G OA5, Canada

    Shahid Alvi

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  1. Shahid Alvi
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Correspondence to Shahid Alvi .

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Alvi, S. (2012). The Nature of Youth Crime. In: Youth Criminal Justice Policy in Canada. SpringerBriefs in Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0273-3_3

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