With Reference to the Item and Elsewhere, Assess Different Views of the Relationship Between Age and Crime (21 Marks)

There is a huge relationship between age and crime overall. According to the item, the peak age for offending is 19 for males and 15 for females. Some sociologists suggest that this can be because of family problems at home and even adolescence. However many other sociologists such as Cohen, claim that they do not agree with these conclusions and claim that young people are simply more likely to get caught because they have a lack of independent status in society. However, again many sociologists question this because they think that that may be an excuse out of their actions and that it can be caused by a lot more advanced problems.

Interactionists also agree with the fact that young people are often convicted because they are more likely to be caught, as they believe that their stereotype involves the police in spending more time observing and checking youth making sure they aren't up to no good. As a result of this, more youths get caught. Also, once in court, young people are more likely to be convicted because of stereotypes but also because they cant afford expensive lawyers, meaning they become labelled and may lead to the self fulfilling prophecy causing their decision to indirectly become true. Cohen believes in status frustration. He found that, young people are frustrated at being caught in the transition between child and adult status, giving them a higher chance of being caught because they feel they lack independent status meaning they may drift into minor acts of delinquency and clashes with the law. This relates beck to the item and Cohen found that peer group pressure also gave young people the confidence and encouragement to involve themselves in the law rather than young people by themselves and Cohen found that the peer group provides some support for an identity and status that is independent in school or family, so this takes on greater importance and young people are more likely to listen to their friends rather than their school or...