‘Yobs’, ‘thugs’, and ‘chavs’ are amongst a few of the words used in the Birmingham Police and Crime newspaper cuttings to describe the so called ‘troubled youth’ of the West Midlands. The increase in newspaper reports which place focus on issues related to youth crime is noticeable, leading the public to believe that young people in Birmingham are growing increasingly unruly. Raising rates of anxiety in the older generations caused by such reports curate narratives which suggest young people are rejecting traditional concepts related to mutual respect, and generally caring less about upholding the law. Shifts in descriptions of Birmingham’s youth between the 1960’s and the 2000’s are in opposition of one another, making one wonder how so much has changed within 40 years. As youth crime continues to permeate the media in 2023, I will look at changes in opinion towards young people and crime in Birmingham over the years.
Greater media focus on youth-based crime is certainly noticeable as we move into the 2000’s in the Birmingham Police and Crime news cuttings collection. In the July 2007- January 2009 cuttings alone, 20 articles are singularly related to youth crime. Much of this representation interlinks gang and anti-social behaviour-based crime with Birmingham’s youth, curating a direct link between young people and disorderly behaviour. Media outlets furthermore report on the ability of West Midlands Police force to decrease the amount of young people becoming involved in youth crime. Initiatives such as the one reported in a 2007 article titled ‘Copper in the classroom has impact on crime rates’ where a police officer was based at a Small Heath School, encourage police presence within educational facilities in the hope of reducing crime rates in people under 18 years of age.
Nonetheless, the young people of Birmingham continue to be associated with crime and unruliness, hence proposing a threat through such assumed changes in attitude towards crime. Such titles as ‘Police confiscate alcohol from city youths in a bid to reduce underage drinking’ continue to dominate media headlines in 2007-2009, further encouraging narratives in which young persons are associated with petty crime. Whilst published statistical information indicates a decrease in youth crime rates since the 1980’s, public perception of the city’s young people continues to deteriorate.
The 1962- edition of the Police and Crime cuttings often discuss young persons in a contrary manner, describing them as ‘bright and young’, often referring to their abilities to improve policing and reduce crime in Birmingham. The education of young people is further suggested to be a positive force for change, in which young people are viewed as the centre point for future success. A 1968 article with the title ‘University chance for bright P.c.s’ celebrates the pursuit of education amongst their young police officers, and the overall abilities of young people to achieve excellent results which will later contribute to society.
Furthermore, the 1962- police cuttings continue to interrelate young people with developments in policing and reducing crime. Page 36 of this volume identifies a need to ‘soak up’ the talents of Birmingham’s youth, alongside an article on page 45 which celebrates the recruitment of the youngest police inspector in West Midlands Police history in an article titled ‘Young to be a sergeant you think? He may be an inspector next year!’. Within the space of 40 years, language used to describe youth in the West Midlands removes them from the inner workings of the police force and places them on the outskirts. Young ‘yobs’ become responsible for many petty and antisocial crimes, essentially condemning them as the centre point of public nuisances.
When placing focus on crime committed by people under the age of 18, it is noticeable that much of this criminal activity is associated with the consumption of alcohol and graffiti art. Such crimes are interlinked with a disregard for authority figures and educational facilities, as this article notes that young people were ‘out of school’ at the time of such crimes being committed. The shift between articles describing young people as bright and young to under-aged and unruly can be understood to cause public opinion to shift, suggesting the youth of the West Midlands are to be feared by the general public.
So, with youth crime rates gradually decreasing over the past 40 years, why is youth crime still at the forefront of media attention regarding policing and crime? Does the press choose to focus on minor crimes committed by the young to encourage the villainization of such a large group? With around 40% of Birmingham’s population being under the age of 25, such representations are damaging to the relationships between the older generations in Birmingham and the young. Encouraging the construction of positive relationships between Birmingham’s older and younger populations will become increasingly important, discouraging attitudes which perpetuate idea the youth of the West Midlands as people to be feared.
If you would like to view the Birmingham Police and Crime News cuttings collection, you can visit floor 4 of the Library of Birmingham and request to see them anytime during our opening hours. These are between 11:00-19:00 from Monday to Tuesday, and 11:00-17:00 from Wednesday to Saturday. Please do bring along some form of identification with you.
Jodie Murphy, Library Assistant
The Iron Room 