Juvenile crime, or is it all just a game?

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Peer delinquency: perception and assessment of typical youth offences from the perspective of young people as a basis for prevention measures

Juvenile offenders often perceive their actions differently to adults. For example, "mobile phone theft" is a typical offence among young people that is seen more as a game. The aim of this project is to visualise the patterns according to which young people perceive and evaluate offences and the underlying logic according to which they interpret and justify them. This expertise will also be used in practice for preventative measures.

Duration: 1.7.2012 to 30.6.2014

Differences in perception and evaluation become all the clearer when criminal behaviour among young people is considered in their everyday context. For example, young people often justify typical mobile phone theft on the basis of underlying "rules of the game" for victims and perpetrators. It is not uncommon for offenders to have had experiences as victims themselves. The research is based on numerous group discussions, individual interviews with young offenders and with social workers, law enforcement officers, juvenile court judges, probation officers, etc. Building on this, around 1,600 girls and boys will be interviewed in Vienna using innovative audio vignettes.

Research Goals

  • Young people's perception and evaluation patterns as well as interpretation and legitimisation logics
  • Preventive measures
  • Group discussions, individual interviews, expert interviews
  • Survey of 1,600 young people

Funding Partners and partners

Funding body

Project Lead