Attentiveness and trust are especially effective in combating juvenile crime

Although coming from a disadvantaged background, experiencing violence within the family, having a negative school environment or consuming violent media such as films and computer games have little or no direct influence on potential criminal behaviour among adolescents and young adults. These factors do often result in young people regarding violent acts as harmless and spending their time with friends with similar attitudes - and this, in turn, is clearly linked to crime.

These are two of the most important results of the long-term study “Crime in the modern City” headed by criminologist Prof. Klaus Boers (University of Münster) and sociologist Prof. Jost Reinecke (University of Bielefeld). ...