Rarely will a week go by without a dramatic heading about the problems of the 'youth of today', as we saw in May 2009 after Ministry of Justice figures showed that Persistent Young Offenders in England and Wales had increased from just under 10,000 in 1997 to nearly 16,000 in 2008.
A survey two years ago by Young People Now magazine found around 78% of national media coverage about young people is negative. The same survey showed this was particularly true of broadcast media which portrayed young people in an unfavourable light in 87% of coverage.
Whether this negativity is the media influence or other factors, the end result is the same – a public perception that young people are perpetrators. For example, a survey in my own authority in 2008 showed that Bridgend County residents were worried about young people and crime. Over 40% admitted to being nervous of walking past a group of young people. To add to this, 74% believed that lack of parental discipline contributed to crime in the area.
Hoodies or goodies?
Is this fair? The public perception does not always correlate with the facts. In Bridgend County, we had a relatively small number of offenders in 2008 – 357 people under 25 compared to a total population of young people of 40,106. At the same time anti-social behaviour, which is the offence most commonly associated with young people, fell by 25% from 107 to 80.
So, if the vast majority of young people are not the perpetrators of crime, are they victims? In Bridgend, between May 2008 and April 2009, there were 515 young victims of crime and 123 young persons charged with an offence. Clearly this shows that there were significantly more young people who were victims of crime than perpetrators of it.
This is not to say I don't recognise the significant hurt and damage that can be caused to communities by our youngest citizens. No one should have to live their lives in fear of violence, threats or anti-social behaviour, but some do because of a minority of young people. That's why as a society we need to work together to tackle youth offending, rather than just accept it as a sign of the times.
Hurtful headlines
However, it is extremely important to highlight the challenges facing our young people who are frequently the victims of undeserved bad press.
In my local authority area I know this only too well – over the past 18 months or so Bridgend County Borough has seen a cluster of suicides affecting young people. These young people were not victims of crime, but victims of circumstances which took them to a place which many of us would not be able to understand. It brought home to all residents of Bridgend the vulnerability of some of our young people and the pressures they face in modern life.
The sadness of the situation demanded sympathy, support and a response to make a difference. That happened locally with an extraordinary level of 'togetherness' from all the agencies dealing with it and the communities living with it. At the same time, many people working in the media probably didn't think how their hurtful headlines were affecting the young residents of a beautiful and diverse borough.
Beyond stereotypes
Tags and labels are unhelpful. We need to move away from stereotypes and judge by actions, regardless of age. During the period of intense publicity about the suicides in Bridgend, young people responded quickly through initiatives such as a peer mentoring scheme where older children in schools provided advice, guidance and friendship to younger pupils. Another moving example was of three teenagers who had lost friends and family through suicide not only supporting each other but designing a leaflet and website to help other young people who had lost people close to them or who are contemplating taking their own lives.
I have also seen young people come together to champion issues they believe in through the Bridgend Youth Council: the oldest and most established organisation of its type in Wales. Chief officers and senior councillors are frequently impressed and challenged by this impressive group of teenagers who are not afraid to ask the difficult questions. Role models have emerged, such as the Bridgend student who was presented with the 'Young Enterprise Wales Young Achiever' Award at the 'Welsh Woman of the Year 2008' ceremony.
Young offenders have also contributed positively and have been involved in many reparation projects. For example, bringing a sports court covered in graffiti, stones and glass back into use for the community by cleaning up the debris and repainting walls.
My conclusion is this – young people should not been seen as perpetrators or victims – in fact they would object to being categorised as such. Rather, they are individuals who have great capacity to help others and a real desire to make a difference.
Bridgend County and suicides
Suicide is a national problem and last autumn the Welsh Assembly Government published a draft National Action Plan aimed at reducing incidents of suicide and self harm across Wales in recognition of this. In addition, the Bridgend Local Service Board (LSB) continues to follow its own local suicide prevention strategy which was being developed a year before the media coverage of the deaths began.
The spark for the last year's international interest in deaths among young people in Bridgend County was a media release by the Wales News press agency which said 'a teenage suicide cult' was 'sweeping through a town with seven young people killing themselves in copycat deaths'. It went on to suggest that Bridgend was the 'suicide capital of Britain' and that 'internet websites may be to blame'. There has never been any such evidence of a cult or a link to any websites.
Among the headlines last year, Bridgend was described as a 'death town' a 'valley of death' a place where youngsters went on 'suicide sprees' and a town in the midst of a 'suicide epidemic'. Bridgend as a town has never seen a cluster of suicides among young people. Deaths which have been reported in the last two years relate to the much wider area of the county borough (population about 130,000). Bridgend County is not unique in the numbers of people who take their own lives.
I pay tribute to the strength of our communities in dealing with these tragic events and to the wealth of support offered by this local authority and its partners. The LSB fully supports the call to encourage the media to improve the sensitive reporting of mental health and suicide.
Dr Jo Farrar is Chief Executive of Bridgend County Borough Council. Previously Dr Farrar was Assistant Chief Executive with Cardiff Council; Assistant Chief Executive at LB Camden; and Deputy Director of Reform Strategy at the Cabinet Office.
From Bubb's Blog
From Whitehall Watch
