ABSTRACT
Most people who have contact with the Probation Service through the criminal courts are increasingly those from poorer sections of the community and those who persistently offend with drugs or alcohol as a large part of their lives. It is much more difficult to separate out those who commit theft, violence or acts of dishonesty without the influence of addictive substances. This is particularly so among the young and poor who are perhaps the most visible. The affluent young also offend but are often not living lives on the streets and are not often known to the police, having the protection that their social class status provides. The reason why people break the law has always been an interesting area of study for psychiatrists and social scientists. Rather like the study of disease, scientists wanted to know about the social, demographic and psychological factors concerned with mental state and crime. While there is some correlation with youth poverty, unemployment and purposelessness, it is harder to determine why an individual offends and becomes a persistent offender. It is baffling when two families sharing similar social and economic status living next door to each other can produce one home of law-abiding offspring and the other a family of lawbreakers. Even within the same sibling group where values and social conditions are communal, it happens that offenders and nonoffenders are found. When this takes place, it could be that individuals make choices or are influenced by the values and morals of those whom they hold in high esteem.
