NCJ Number
239296
Journal
Criminology & Criminal Justice Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2012 Pages: 113-128
Date Published
April 2012
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article examines an empirical study of 20 young men from socially deprived areas of the west of Scotland, whose involvement in individualized offending emerged from their earlier participation in gang violence.
Abstract
Concerns about youth gang violence and offending have occurred in developed societies across the globe, and a plethora of youth justice sanctions have arisen in response to this. This article is focused upon an empirical study of 20 young men from socially deprived areas of the west of Scotland, whose involvement in individualized offending emerged from their earlier participation in gang violence. The article explores the impact of curfews and electronic monitoring on the social strains, support and capital experienced by the young men and their families. The findings indicate that the sanctions had some limited success in reducing anti-social capital in the young offenders' lives, particularly when they were complemented by mechanisms for rehabilitation and care. However, when used in isolation the sanctions often failed to build pro-social capital and, in some cases, functioned as an additional social strain conducive to further criminal offending. The article ends with some suggested implications for future youth justice policy decisions, and calls for wider research into the impact of criminal justice sanctions on young offenders and families. (Published Abstract)