Teenage Crime

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             This article is about the rising rates of teen crime in Britain. Just last week, an 11-year-old boy was gunned down by another young boy around 13-15 years old. A month back, a 47-year-old died from head injuries after confronting a gang of more than 15 teenagers throwing stones at his car. 3 days after that, a 23-year-old died after challenging a group of youths over a half-eaten chocolate bar thrown into his sister's car. An elderly man who tried helping him had a knife put to his throat. Figures show that teenagers are responsible for 40 per cent of all recorded crime. This alarming trend is definitely something that we have to put a stop to.
           Many researchers have shown that during adolescence, teenagers go through a stage where they wish to express their own individuality. This usually leads to them rebelling, so they do not fit into the crowd and are unique. For example, some teenagers argue with their parents, refusing to conform to standards that their siblings have accepted. All of these actions are to get noticed, sometimes even to impress their peers. However, in recent years, these actions have become more extreme, usually breaking the law.
           So what has caused this phenomenon to occur? I believe strongly that it is because of the environment that these teenagers live in.
          Firstly, it is the upbringing of the child. In the article, experts say that absentee dads and parents lacking in moral fibre are also to blame for the decline in respect and discipline. How can a young child be expected to grow up with good morals if his parents aren’t a good role model for him? Thus, it is very important for parents to teach their children good values from a young age. This will then prevent such cases of teenage crime from happening.
          Next, the friends that teens make also play a huge part in the development of the teen. During adolescence, people are greatly affected by peer pressure. Thus, many of their actions are done just to fit in, or to be accepted by their friends. We can tell from this that teens will be in trouble if they get into bad company. This can be counteracted with good advice from parents, but in some families, both parents are working. Therefore, teenagers spend much more time with their peers than their parents, and slowly but surely, they will be more influenced by their peers than parents. With the lack of control that the parent has over her children, the teenager will just follow whatever his friends do. Should they commit a crime, no one would be able to tell them that it is wrong.
           Finally, the school also has a part to play. Why are parents so anxious about their children going to a good school, going to extremes like moving close to a school just to get a place in it? That is because in good schools, children are more likely to be well behaved, therefore their child is less likely to get into bad company. The school teachers will also be more particular about discipline, so as to maintain the good reputation that the school has. Therefore, with teachers to keep the students’ discipline and conduct in check, teenagers are much less likely to commit crimes.
            In conclusion, the environment has a huge part to play in healthy development of a teenager’s moral compass. Thus, we have to put in more effort to ensure a safe environment for these teenagers, and put a stop to the rising levels of teenage crime.


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