Skip to content

Youth crime may be 'contagious', say researchers

News imageGetty Images A rear view of a young man in police handcuffs. He is wearing a blue top and jeans.Getty Images
Young suspects are often connected to others suspected of crimes, research shows

Violence among young people may be "contagious" and spread through their social connections, new research has found.

Academics at the University of Cambridge's Violence Research Centre analysed data from more than 200,000 crimes committed between March 2018 and October 2021, which included about 6,000 young people aged 10 to 18 who were suspected of committing an offence.

The data gathered from Cambridgeshire Police showed 42% of these youth suspects were recorded alongside at least one other person in a crime event of any type.

Researchers said mapping "co-offender data" could help identify those more likely to be responsible for the most serious violent crime.

The top 5% most connected young people, by number of co-suspects, were almost five times more likely to carry a knife than the average youth suspect, according to the analysis.

This top 5% were almost three times more likely to commit violent crime, seven times more likely to commit robberies and nine times more likely to be involved in organised crime than the wider youth suspect population.

The research also found that "super connected" young people were far more likely to become a victim of knife violence themselves.

Almost 60% of young victims of knife-related injury were suspects in another offence, the research indicated.

Violence 'deeply social'

News imageSam Read/BBC A tall male figure towers above a bright blue sky. The statue's hands are open and shoulders are shrugged. The statue is made out of rusty knife blades of all different shapes and sizes.Sam Read/BBC
Young people with the most connections to other suspected offenders are almost five times more likely to carry knives than the average youth suspect, researchers found

Prof Paolo Campana, the lead author from Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology, said: "Traditional approaches treat young offenders in isolation, focusing on individual risk factors such as age, background and previous behaviour."

News imageUniversity of Cambridge Prof Paolo Campana is looking at the camera. He has curly dark hair and facial hair. He is wearing dark-rimmed spectacles and a blue shirt and jacket. He is standing in a garden, which is blurred in the background.University of Cambridge
Prof Paolo Campana led the research at the University of Cambridge

"In reality, we are missing a crucial layer, as youth violence is deeply social, driven by relationships and peer groups.

"Mapping co-offender networks using police records could help agencies identify and engage with young people at greatest risk of inflicting violence and becoming victims.

"Intervening when young people first become embedded in criminal networks, regardless of the seriousness of the initial offence, could prevent loss of life down the line."

The research was conducted in collaboration with Dr Noemi Corsini from the University of Cambridge and Dr Cecilia Meneghini from the University of Exeter.

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
Related internet links