Critical Social Policy Research Paper

Critical Social Policy http://csp.sagepub.com/ Young people 'as risk ' or young people 'at risk ': Comparing discourses of anti-social behaviour in England and Victoria
Nathan Hughes
Critical Social Policy 2011 31: 388
DOI: 10.1177/0261018311405011
The online version of this article can be found at: http://csp.sagepub.com/content/31/3/388 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Critical Social Policy can be found at:
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These opposing perspectives inevitably give rise to markedly different policies and interventions. In England, an emphasis on the needs of the victim prioritizes the prevention of particular behaviours, whilst interventions in Victoria seek to address the needs of the perpetrator that are seen to contribute to or result from anti-social behaviour. To illustrate this contrast, the paper highlights the particular effects of these contradictory discourses on young people, and in doing so suggests a need to be wary of the impact of resultant approaches on those who may be most susceptible to committing anti-social behaviour, or to having their
The extended drinking hours and increased marketing drive led to associated concerns with an increase in alcohol-related anti-social behaviour. Whilst this was seen to inevitably require a greater police presence on the streets, an enforcement approach was not presented as the primary means to tackle this issue. A policing or prohibition approach was in itself thought to have a limited likely effectiveness. For example, focusing on limiting the alcohol consumption of young people in public will lead them to ‘drink at home before they come out’, whilst heavy and visible policing of the behaviour of people perceived to be drunk was thought to be potentially antagonistic and therefore inciting of the sorts of behaviour they were looking to prevent.
Instead there was a perceived need ‘to challenge this in the same way we challenge drink driving or road safety’ (Senior police officer, March
2009) by addressing a ‘generational acceptance’ that particular behaviour is acceptable. ‘The message needs to be that it’s not big and it’s not clever’ (Senior police officer, March 2009). To support this approach there was a desire for research that explores ‘who is drinking,