Causes and Effects of Delinquent Behaviour and Social Exclusion.

Delinquent behaviour by young people is a long-standing subject of public and governmental concern. Although 'delinquency' is hard to define, widespread understanding of its core characteristics, main causes, and effects exists. The concept of 'social exclusion' is new and is not widely understood, but the problems it refers to are extensive. This paper provides an overview of both delinquency and social exclusion, and discusses how they relate to one another. The paper focuses on neighbourhoods in order to explain how delinquency can both follow from and add to social exclusion at the local level. Drawing on the author's research in Britain and America, the paper details how attending to the local links between delinquency and social exclusion can be central to addressing both problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]