§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies have been made concerning the motivation of persons convicted of vandalism; what assessment he has made as to how far such studies are representative of the problem; and what advice he has taken from outside Her Majesty's Government of such studies.
§ Mr. John PattenEarly studies focusing on the psychology of those convicted of vandalism were supplanted by research which investigated the acts of vandalism committed by "normal" children and young people, because convicted vandals were judged to be unrepresentative. Lately the Home Office, in seeking to foster crime prevention activities by agencies other than central Government and the police, has taken note of work by British Telecom plc. which involved interviewing young people about telephone box vandalism. The Home Office crime prevention unit has advised London Underground Ltd. in conducting a study of those convicted of putting graffiti on the outside of trains. In deriving advice for policy and practice from studies of the motivation of vandals, due regard is taken of the biases introduced by a focus on convicted offenders, where practical reasons make such a focus unavoidable.