Lots of coverage of the new figures around teenage violent crime today, much of it focused on the increase in the number of girls involved and linking this to their drinking patterns.
Teenage girls are responsible for more than 40 violent attacks every day, it emerged yesterday.
The so-called ladettes, many of whom have been drinking, were responsible for 15,762 assaults and serious beatings last year, as well as more than 1,000 muggings.
Surely drink plays a part?
There is ample evidence in town and city centres at weekends of the phenomenon of “ladettes”, groups of teenage girls and young women who become as drunk and unruly as their male contemporaries. Recent police figures suggested that 50 per cent more women were arrested in 2007-08 for being drunk and disorderly than five years ago. In the West Midlands, the number went up from just 59 to 731.
Meanwhile, as many as 29 per cent of schoolgirls admit to binge-drinking, a higher figure than schoolboys. Given the link between extreme alcohol consumption and violence, it is inevitable that more girls are finding themselves with a criminal record. David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, said the levels of offending were a “shocking indictment” of the Government’s failure to get a grip on crime. He said new licensing laws, and policies which have “driven family breakdown”, had contributed to the problem.
In figures previously leaked last week, the report also showed the number of crimes committed by girls has risen by a quarter in three years – possibly linked with alcohol.
Girls committed 59,236 crimes in 2006/07, up 25% from 47,358 in 2003/04.
Crimes by girls have leapt 25 per cent in three years fuelled by rising alcohol abuse.
In the same period, overall violent crime by young people rocketed nearly 40 per cent.
The Guardian’s take is more nuanced:
The most common crimes committed by girls were theft, violent attacks, criminal damage and public order offences.
The reasons behind this trend are being investigated the government and academics.
Preliminary research, conducted by London’s South Bank University, suggested a number of contributing factors.
One reason might simply be that the overall population of girls has increased and therefore the number of crimes committed by this population could be expected to rise proportionally….
Underage drinking could also be a factor, she added. When the research team interviewed a sample group of girls who had committed a crime, there was a statistically significant link between committing a violent offence and the recent use of alcohol.
Filed under: alcohol , alcohol and crime
