Rates of youth crime are increasing rapidly in most cities around the world. What have caused this, and which solutions can be suggested to overcome the problem?

by Andrey Gorbunov

There is no doubt that many megalopolises are facing a rise in criminal activity among young people. This essay will describe some factors that have created the issue and will present several approaches to efficiently deal with it. 

Beginning with causes, a constantly increasing level of poverty and parental attention deficiency might be considered as the main contributors to the problem. A highly stratified urban society with the noticeable shift towards low-income population forces the lower class to commit illegal actions such as robbery or larceny. Furthermore, the necessity to maintain reasonable income compels spending more time on work from parents, hence creating a sense of attention deficit in their children and provoking an aberrant behaviour.

The first possible solution to consider includes arranging social activities engaging young people to help a community. For example, youth events such as alternative sports games or local music festivals can entertain younger population; moreover, collecting reasonable fees from such events can build a budget for important community projects.  As a part of this initiative, supporting volunteers’ motion and attracting new recruits from youngsters can help to reduce the number of crimes.

There is an alternative approach to consider: stricter punishment for committed crime might prevent young people from any illegal activities. To illustrate, an increasing number of juvenile delinquents in cities of the Russian Federation stimulates the government to decrease the age of possible imprisonment from 18 to 14 years old. 

In conclusion, considering all possible factors leading to the problem, synergic efforts of the government and the community can be recommended to achieve a positive outcome.