The perspective of incarcerated youths on potential crime promoters and crime preventers to offending nb

Abstract

This research studies the perspective of eight Maltese incarcerated young offenders, aged eighteen or over, by exploring their first-hand experiences of prospective crime promoters and crime preventers. The main themes discussed in this study are the individual, family, peer, community and neighbourhood. Since most of the current literature in this area is based on professionals’ perspectives, this study sought to have a better understanding of whether the participants’ life experiences tally with the professionals’ conclusions on crime promoters and preventers. A qualitative approach was adopted to gather a better understanding of the participants’ life experiences. Data was gathered via semi-structured online face-to-face interviews and a thematic analysis was then adopted to identify the qualitative dataset. Findings clearly show that crime promoters do not work in isolation from each other, and one risk factor leads to another. Results show that primary influences are early onset in crime, low self-esteem, drug abuse, early school leaving and un/employment, to mention a few. Moreover, family crime promoters which shaped the participants’ life experiences were either direct or indirect influences. The lack of family crime preventers, on the other hand, led participants to resort to crime and engage with criminogenic peers. Both peer factors and living in deprived, poor neighbourhoods and communities may have also worked as in/direct promoters to crime. This study also identifies the lack of crime preventers in the participants’ lives. The participants did not find any emotional support to face different traumas and challenges they faced throughout their lives because of family crime promoters. Hence, they resorted to delinquent peers, drug abuse and criminal offences at a young age. Not even incarceration acted as a crime preventer for these Maltese participants; in fact, many were incarcerated multiple times. It is important to note that this study also highlights the fact that both crime promoters and preventers may work interchangeably and that every individual may perceive crime promoters and preventers differently.