In many countries crime rates among teenagers are higher than among other age groups. What are the causes of this problem and what can be done to solve it?

It is an alarming fact that the youth crime rate is growing in many places around the globe and is a phenomenon that needs to be addressed.

However

, before solutions can be offered, it is necessary to look at the underlying causes of the increase in youth-perpetrated crime. The underlying root of the problem is almost always a young person’s home life. Irrespective of socio-economic status, if a youth’s family environment is chaotic, violent, or simply lacking in attention,

then

that youth may act out by committing petty crimes in a desperate cry for attention. To deal with

this

, parents must take the responsibility to find the time in their own busy lives to make sure that their children are not only looked after physically but have their emotional needs taken care of too. Another factor may be the general environment that children grow up in nowadays.

In other words

, the youth of today spend most of their time interacting online, which means a lack of face-to-face interaction with other people, resulting possibly in a lack of empathy for others and so a greater willingness to commit crimes, like vandalism, graffiti, or shoplifting, which show a lack of respect for other people’s property. A practical measure that could be taken on

this

front is to encourage or even require children to participate in more social activities, like sports and other clubs. Overall, while the escalation in crimes undertaken by young people is a concerning trend, by focusing on improving the quality of a young person’s home life as well as helping them grow as people by aiding the development of their social skills, the problem can be considerably diminished, if not altogether eliminated.