New Sports Funding To Tackle Youth Crime

Statistics show that 80% of adult offenders first began committing crimes as a child, costing taxpayers an estimated £18 billion a year from economic and social costs. New plans are in place to try and turn young people away from committing crimes, and to instead encourage them to turn to sport which can help individuals learn important life skills.

Between April 2020 and May 2021, 15,800 children were cautioned or sentenced for committing crimes, highlighting the impact that crime is having on young people’s lives as an increasing number of children are engaging in illegal activities. Across England and Wales, new strategies and plans are being proposed to try and draw young people away from crime committing. Charities have been given the opportunity to bid for money which will allow them to run programmes designated to steer young people away from law breaking, and to get involved in activities that encourage team work, resilience, and discipline.

The Crime Prevention Through Sport Fund aims to support projects that use sport and physical activity to reduce violence, crime, and anti-social behaviour. The fund of £5 million, will be used as a tool to engage and support young people up to the age of 25. The Funding is due to be part of the largest youth justice funding package within this generation, in a bid to make the streets safer and the opportunity for young people to live a safe and fulfilling life. Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, have spoken out and said –

"I have seen first-hand how local sports projects can transform the lives of young people from tough backgrounds, getting them off the streets and teaching them life skills including teamwork, discipline, and resilience."

"That’s why we’re investing £5 million in innovative sporting schemes up and down the country. It is part of our £300 million investment to support every council across England and Wales in catching and preventing youth offending earlier than ever, making our streets safer."

Young people are turning to crime committing for several different reasons, from staying popular within friendship groups, to joining gangs, to even lack of attention from families, these are all factors that can progress to individuals feeling the need to commit crime. As young people have the mindset that to become popular, they need to have money, they may turn to crime as a quick way of them gaining a financial income to fulfil their daily expenses. This can link onto peer pressure that can further influence young people to commit crime from the fear of feeling excluded. Young people who are part of groups that commit crimes are more likely to do the same to fit in. Finally, one of the biggest factors that can contribute to youth crime is drug and alcohol abuse. For many young people, they can be influenced into taking drugs and drinking alcohol, which is already a crime, but can also progress into bigger and more serious crimes occurring. Drug and alcohol abuse can affect individuals’ judgement, which can alter their vision of reality and progress them to committing crimes.

The Ministry of Justice will work closely with its delivery partner, StreetGames and consortium partners the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice, and the Sport for Development Coalition, to oversee the delivery of the funding.

Stuart Felce, StreetGames Director of Sport, and Community Safety has said –

"We’re really excited to be partnering with the Sport for Development Coalition and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice to deliver this ambitious new programme from the Ministry of Justice.”

“These funds are a vote of confidence in the power of sport to provide young people with a positive pathway and to help prevent them from falling into the criminal justice system.”

This programme is anticipated to be a varied one to try and appeal to all individuals with different interests. With the aim to get young people to try new things, and to meet new people, the charities aim is to get as many young people involved as possible, to steer them clear from feeling the need to involve themselves in crime, allowing them to live a positive life.