We use KPF’s authentic voice advocating for young people to publish research reports and to influence public policy.
In April 2024, in collaboration with public policy experts Public First, KPF published a major report ‘The Power of Choice – Young People’s Views on Reducing Youth Violence.’
Download the full report here
While the causes of youth crime in the UK are complex and multi-layered, the reality is that young people are feeling less safe in their communities and violence is a real and everyday concern.
The debate can too easily be dominated by statistics and figures and the vital perspectives of the young people most affected can often be overlooked. It is only through placing the voices of these young people front and centre that we will be able to understand the complex drivers of youth crime and work towards effective interventions to help them avoid criminality. It is only through listening to the diverse stories and real life experience of the young people for whom youth crime is more than a number on a spreadsheet that we can discover the factors that push young people to commit crime and work with them to develop the most effective routes out of it.
This research project set out with the following objectives:
Working with the Kiyan Prince Foundation, Public First has engaged with over 1,000 young people from across the country and in a range of different settings who have direct experience of youth crime and who have strong opinions on what needs to be done to solve this crisis. In this report, we explore the key themes that emerged from these discussions and have worked directly with young people to formulate the recommendations for policymakers on a way forward.
This report seeks to bridge the gap between abstract policy discussion and the lived experiences of young people. It is only by listening to and working directly with young people that we can chart a course to reducing youth crime and making young people across the UK feel safer.
Young people feel less safe.
A majority of young people we spoke to worry they will be threatened with a knife or mugged in their local area. In our poll 39% of respondents shared that they felt their hometown had become less safe in the past two years and 32% said they had personally witnessed youth crime. 56% of young people are worried they will be threatened with a knife, and 50% are worried they will be mugged. Feeling unsafe has been linked with increasing behaviours such as skipping school and a record number of young people are seeking mental health support.
The drivers towards youth crime are numerous and diverse.
On the other hand, fear of being a victim, peer pressure, mental health issues (and absence of mental health support), and a lack of legitimate routes to earn money, were repeatedly emphasised.
Young people feel there are fewer organised activities for them.
The absence of available constructive alternatives was consistently raised as a gateway to youth crime – “there is nowhere else to go and nothing else to do”. 44% of school-age young people spend less time undertaking extra-curricular activities than they did a few years ago.
To combat the lack of organised activities, young people want more youth centres, especially sports clubs and organised sport where they can spend their time constructively.
The vast majority of respondents (75%) believed that increasing structured sports programmes would reduce levels of youth crime. Young people felt this would give them life goals to work towards (60%) and help keep them off the street (59%).
Better mental health provision is needed in schools.
This was the most emphasised policy solution to stopping young people from becoming involved in youth crime, particularly among young people who were in the ‘at risk’ category.
Increase the use of external speakers in schools as positive and relatable role models.
As a way of combating peer pressure, providing positive and authentic role models who could provide guidance, inspiration and a sense of direction was a popular solution to help young people turn away from youth crime.
Increase the number of good quality jobs available to young people.
A major pull factor towards youth crime was that it is seen as an easy way to make quick money. A major push factor was that young people feel they have few legitimate alternative routes to earn money. Providing good quality workplace opportunities for young people is essential.
