Youth in Conflict with the Law: A Criminological Exploration of the Social Factors Perpetuating Misconduct

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an upsurge in the quantity of transgressions perpetrated by adolescents, signifying that a considerable proportion of the youth populace experiences a great degree of marginalisation within their social milieu. Moreover, many youths have succumbed to challenges related to academic failure, socio-economic adversity, family turmoil, substance abuse and deviant peer affiliation. Consequently, this impedes their transition into adulthood and dissuades them from evolving into meaningful social actors. Based on this premise, the current study was conducted to explore the socio-criminogenic risk factors which manifest in the family, community, school and peer group domain, through gauging the lived experiences of youth regarding the factors which they most closely associate with their offending behaviour. Data were obtained using a sample of 20 males incarcerated at the Kimberley Youth Development Centre in the Northern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa, and analysed using thematic analysis. Several key factors perpetuating youth misconduct were identified, including antisocial peer-affiliation, gang membership, community disorganisation and illicit substance use. It is thus envisaged that these findings will stimulate further research, contribute to the existing body of knowledge and aid in policy development, with the reduction of conflict as the ultimate aim.