1. What causes young people to commit crime?
There are probably as many sets of reasons as there are young people committing crime, but I'm sure there are common themes. Lack of guidance by parents. Lack of (or rejection of) education. Lack of boundaries. Feelings of not belonging or having a stake in society. Family breakdown and/or poor parenting. Lack of (or perceived lack of) opportunity. Peer pressure. Late or no intervention as things are going wrong for them. Not being held accountable for their own actions as they grow up. Mental health issues. MH is a big factor in that it leads to maladaptive coping strategies such as excessive drinking and drugs, which in turn can lead to addiction and the need to make easy money to fund the habit. Laziness (I can't be arsed earning it, so I'll just steal it). Low emotional intelligence. Greed. Boredom.
These, a mix of these and no doubt many other factors can come into play and see a young person going off the rails and getting into crime. Many don't have a functioning family, so look for a different kind of family to call home. This is where gang culture can come in. Belonging to something can feel better than belonging to nothing. Even negative role models can feel better than no role models at all. You may also see some good kids from good, structured homes going off the rails. Some don't like the boundaries, the rules etc and will rebel and get in with kids with more negative, destructive outlooks.
Another thing I notice is how younger people generally have not really built up their empathy levels. When young, you are just feeling your way around life. It's basically all about you and how you feel. This can potentially make it more difficult to put yourself in the shoes of other people. Basically, it's easier to be a nasty bugger because you simply don't understand the impact you are having on others. As we mature we may look back and be ashamed of things we did when younger, because we then understand more about the impact we had. Low level criminality has big impacts on its victims, but perpetrators may just see it as 'having a laugh'. We all know how unchecked low level stuff can escalate though.
I'm sure this only scratches the surface.
2. Do you think youth crime is a matter of nature or nuture?
I don't think people are born bad. Some may be predisposed to certain behaviours, but I think environment and circumstances come into play possibly more so. By their very nature, young people are something of a blank canvas. This makes them vulnerable to external circumstances. Society as it currently is is fertile breeding ground for negative mindsets and subsequent actions. In many sub cultures, it's cool to be bad. What chance have young minds got being brought into this kind of world? I think it takes very skilled parenting to help their offspring negotiate successfully through their formative years these day. So yes, I'm heavily inclined towards nurture rather than nature on this.
3. How do you think young offenders should be dealt with?
That's a tough question, and vastly superior minds to mine have struggled to answer that one.
Personally speaking, I think early, firmly but also sympathetically. I grew up around kids who started to go off the rails. Kids are always looking to test boundaries. That's normal and natural. Thing is, if there are no parental boundaries at home, and society overlooks initial petty offences, then youngsters tend to think they can do just what they like. They will continue, in many cases, to ramp it up until eventually the criminal system takes notice, but by then it's too late.
I saw small kids being cheeky, mouthing off etc and being generally naughty without any intervention from parents. As they grew they began petty crime. Stealing car radios and criminal damage. Then it was car theft and burglary. Then it was all of that plus drugs. No real intervention until all of the above was well entrenched and all these people knew. The cycle has continued with their own offspring, although the criminality has ramped up further.
With all this in mind, I think intervention has to start as soon as the negative, destructive behaviour starts. Young people need to be taught how to be responsible for their actions at an early stage, otherwise, how do they develop into responsible adults? Personal responsibility needs to be taught. It's all too easy to say you are bored, but everyone can be shown that there are a million constructive things to do with our time if only we take it upon ourselves to identify them. I think young people need to be taught to identify their interests, strengths and talents then to help them find ways to express them. Confidence and self-esteem building could help.
I also think offenders could benefit from talking to ex-offenders about the realities of following the criminal lifestyle. TV makes it somehow glamourous, but the realities are pretty squalid, depressing and can often lead to early death. The 'glamour' needs to be removed from criminality. Working with/for victims of crime could also help some people understand the realities of being a victim and could help teach some human empathy. I also think we have to actually listen to and try to understand what young people who commit crime are telling us. Many are victims themselves. Victims of circumstance, environment, bad parenting, abuse etc... If a person feels the world doesn't care about them, then they won't care about the world or those in it either. This will often be reflected in their behaviour.
Of course, this is all just generalising. Punishments need to fit individual crimes, so it's difficult to come up with definitive answers. It's an incredibly complex subject.
I sort of go with the iron fist in the velvet glove, approach. Decent society needs strong, clear but fair boundaries, but rehabilitation needs to be about education and support too. There has to be a balance.
I don't know if any of that is useful, but it's sort of my thoughts in an 'off the top of my head' kind of way.
Good luck with your studies.