HC Deb 24 June 1982 vol 26 cc425-6
14. Mr. Edwin Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young persons between the age of 12 and 20 years were convicted during each of the past four years.

Mr. Mayhew

In 1980 about 210,000 persons aged 12 and under 21 were found guilty of indictable offences. In each of the three previous years the number was about 190,000. Information for 1981 is not yet available.

Mr. Wainwright

Does the Minister agree that the number of young people committing such offences must be a matter of sadness to any Government? Does he believe that the present economic situation has any bearing on this, in that for young people aged 12 to 14 standards at home are much lower than they should be, while those of 15 and 16 and upwards are highly frustrated due to the lack of jobs when they are ready to go to work?

Mr. Mayhew

I agree, of course, that it is both sad and reprehensible that so many offences are committed by young people in this age group. As a student of these matters, the hon. Gentleman will know that the origins and roots of crime are very tangled and complex. I do not think that unemployment can be said to have a direct bearing on the 12 to 14 age group, and certainly no causative link has been proved to exist between the level of unemployment and the level of crime.

Mr. Bill Walker

Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that the problems of young people becoming involved in crime have their basis in the home? Does he agree also that one of the difficulties that we face is that stability in the home is no longer what it was, due to trendy legislation which, among other things, makes for easier divorce and one-parent families?

Mr. Mayhew

I should not do justice to the last subject if I attempted to answer it at Question Time. I believe that there is scope for initiatives across a number of Departments to see whether there are ways in which opportunities for crime can be diminished. Those initiatives are now being taken.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

Will the Minister confirm that the Home Office research unit study into the disorders in Handsworth last year concluded that unemployment was a major contributory factor in the riots?

Mr. Mayhew

I do not believe that anyone has ever disputed that unemployment offers an occasion for criminality, but it never offers an excuse and it would be a great disservice to the proper study of these matters if undue weight were placed on that factor alone.

Dr. Summerskill

Will the hon. and learned Gentleman bear in mind that this week in another place the Government were deservedly defeated because they opposed a realistic amendment making it harder for courts to impose custodial sentences on young offenders?

Mr. Mayhew

No, the hon. Lady is misinformed. The amendment did not make it harder. It sought to spell out in statutory language considerations that the courts need to have in mind before thay may sentence to custody. I explained at length in this House—and I obtained the approval of this House—that it is better to legislate in general terms and to allow the Court of Appeal to develop, in a series of judgments, the proper guidance to the courts.