From the nineteenth century to the present day, youth and youth justice policies have been rooted in the adult world, have reflected adult concerns with the threat of youth and have been constructed to allay adult fears." (Brown, 1998). Discuss.

The first 200 words of this essay...

"Through the twists and turns of youth justice policy we see a recurring and ongoing preoccupation with the perceived threat to social stability posed by unregulated, undisciplined and disorderly youth outside adult control. [...] From the nineteenth century to the present day, youth and youth justice policies have been rooted in the adult world, have reflected adult concerns with the threat of youth and have been constructed to allay adult fears." (Brown, 1998). Discuss.

"By 1851 'juvenile delinquency' was established among journal-reading, servant-employing Britons as a major problem in the condition of England. It was, wrote J.S. More, a professor of civil law, 'next to slavery...perhaps the greatest strain on our country. Matthew Davenport Hill, recorder of Birmingham, described it as 'the head-spring of that ever-flowing river of crime, which spreads its corrupt and corrupting waters through the land'. Dickens pictured it as a 'bog', and prophesied that its 'seed of evil' would yield a 'field of ruin...that shall be gathered in, and garnered up, and sown again...until regions are overspread with wickedness enough to raise the waters of another deluge'" (Magarey 2002 p115)

The question that remains is, to what extent are youth justice policies the government's