The attitude of criminal justice agencies towards juvenile crime had, however, altered since the 1950s. Young people were no longer seen as victims of poverty and overcrowding but as troublemakers, especially susceptible to bad influences during adolescence. Studies of juvenile delinquency remained essentially social-psychological and individualistic. Youth delinquency was seen principally as intentional or unintentional deviation from consensual social values, to be neutralised by the strengthening of various social controls. The numbers of juveniles prosecuted increased in the 1980s, despite the constant ‘Fight Youth Crime’ campaigns. Most were arrested for petty theft such as pick pocketing, snatching and shoplifting. Concern about rising juvenile delinquency had prompted the government to set up a sub-committee to study the social causes of crime ‘in the hope of finding a solution to the problem’. Government-funded research on juvenile crime began, and criminology blossomed as social scientists focused on ways of solving the youth crime problem.