Youth crime and sports-based interventions : representation, history, theory, policy, and practice

Representations of youth are often polarised: stressing potentiality or deficiency. This ambivalence is reflected in New Labour youth policy for England, where the insistence that 'Every Child Matters' (HM Treasury 2003) exists alongside an expanded, often punitive, youth justice system in England and Wales (Muncie and Goldson 2006). Within this system, 'early intervention' and 'prevention' services attempt to combine 'crime reduction' and 'welfare-orientated' objectives. Targeted sports programmes or 'sportsbased interventions' also claim to tackle 'drug use, crime and anti-social behaviour' and promote 'social inclusion' (Crime Concern 2006: 15, Football Foundation 2006). Sport has long been associated with youth crime reduction (RusseU and Rigby 1908; Wolfenden 1960; Rigg 1986), but research has historically failed to provide robust evidence to support such claims (Utting 1996; Coalter et al. 2000). Some now claim an 'evidence base' is developing (Nichols 2007), or believe programmes can bring wider social poKcy benefits (Collins et al. 1999; Crabbe et al. 2006a).EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo