Youth Offending

This map shows the area of origin of young people who committed offences, rather than the area where the offences were committed.

The young people referred to are those who have been sentenced in the Youth Court, Magistrates' Court or Crown Court. These young people have not been divided by race or gender on the map which illustrates the full range of of young offenders.

High rates of offending in a particular area can suggest either large numbers of offenders whose home address is in that area, or large numbers of offences attributable to particular individuals living in that area.

The choice of the age group 11-25 reflects the ages of young people dealt with by Social Services Youth Justice Team and Probation Youth Team; but it is also the group of offenders who, it can be argued, caused most concern. Recent Home Office research indicated that many young offenders do not "grow out of" crime until their mid-twenties, and that around one quarter of all detected crimes are attributable to young people.