Meeting the demands of a consumer culture which targets young people is a major factor associated with street crime, according to a new report.

The Young People and Street Crime report, conducted for the Youth Justice Board, found that the importance young people place on image, as well as economic and personal factors, were the main triggers in causing them to commit street crime.

The research found that those most at risk of offending were young people with no adult earners in the household, teenage boys with no positive male role models and those alienated from mainstream education.

The rise in street crime is just one symptom of much wider problems which are deep-rooted Professor Marian Fitzgerald

Street crime was also found to be most likely in areas where children from less well-off families came into close contact with the better-off.

Chairman of the Youth Justice Board, said the research showed that the consumer culture had not only made robbery more lucrative but had also motivated offenders in the first place.

"For many of today's teenagers, possessions like mobile phones are a must-have status symbol and some young people have turned to crime to get them," he said.

"Those who offend are frequently those who have become disengaged with education, have had inadequate adult role models and have become alienated from their mainstream fellow citizens."

"These particular young offenders have often already accepted that they will not achieve a proper education but they still want what they see as the good things of life and symbols of success."

Commercial pressures

He said government initiatives had improved co-operation between agencies but more was needed to tackle the long-term solution.

"We need more, but attractive, after-school, weekend and holiday activities for the young people in deprived areas that give them a sense of a stake in society and that the rest of us care about them," he said.

"We need also to look at some of the commercial pressures on these young people."

Researchers interviewed young people convicted of street crime as well as victims, parents, police, teachers and youth offending team workers.

The study, carried out between April 2001 and June 2002, found that of all recorded street crime in England and Wales, 70% occurs in just five of the 43 police force areas.

In London, 60% of robberies take place in only 10 of the 32 boroughs.

The victims of street crime were most likely to be other young people, the study found.

Anyone who looked weak or vulnerable by not "looking good" was more likely to be targeted.

Easy money

One young person told the researchers that it was quite easy to get involved in street crime.

"It's quick money, also you don't have to go through all those years of education before you can start to earn money.

"You can start earning money straight away."

The Youth Justice Board, responsible for leading reforms to the youth justice system, is targeting prevention work at those most at risk of offending, including Splash and Youth Inclusion Programmes which have seen a dramatic drop in youth crime.

One of the authors of the report, Professor Marian Fitzgerald, said the rise in street crime was just one symptom of wider, deep-rooted problems.

"The criminal justice system has a part to play in tackling them; but addressing their causes will require a sustained strategy which involves all the relevant agencies," she said.

"A key element in this must be to harness young people's potential in positive ways and to protect them more effectively from the many pressures on them."