ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by looking at patterns of offending by young people. It includes an analysis of specific serious offences; namely, crimes of violence, drug-related offences and serious crimes of dishonesty such as housebreaking and car theft. The chapter examines what are generally regarded as 'petty' offences and 'incivilities' such as vandalism and rowdiness in the street. It looks in more detail at how these figures break down in relation to the three offences included under this general category - namely, 'taking illegal drugs', 'buying or selling illegal drugs' and 'glue-sniffing'. The chapter looks more closely at the findings on serious property crime - namely, housebreaking, shopbreaking and car theft. In addition, it is important to recognise that rule-breaking is central to the process of learning the formal and informal rules of social life. The widespread involvement of young people in petty offences raises a number of difficult questions of policy.
