Youth crime in the context of social exclusion

Social exclusion denotes a dynamical process raised by an individual's state of being far away from social supports, his being deprived of institutions protecting his rights and his being in both material and moral deprivation in consequence of a number of disadvantages and inequalities. This concept which is widely used particularly in the countries of Western Europe not only implicates the economical aspects but also individualistic and social aspects. Many people faces the risk of social exclusion in society. Disabled, women, needies, patients and criminals can be regarded among those who faces that risk. Crime behavior caused by individualistic or structural reasons can be both a cause and an effect of social exclusion. Having looked at the resources concerning criminalism, it is noticeable that crime behavior has a high incidence among young individual. In this study, relationship between crime behavior in the youth which is an important phase in the life of individual and social exclusion is treated. The field study carried out in this context has been conducted on the youngsters benefiting from probation services in the Probation and Support Services Centre's of General Directorate of Prisons of Detention Houses of Ministry of Justice. Investigation has been completed in the Provincial Directorates of Probation of two metropolises which are Ankara and Istanbul. In the field study in which both qualitative and quantitative techniques are used, "Social Exclusion Scale" has been applied to some 234 people and has been interviewed deeply with 18 people, in conclusion the acquired data corroborates the quantitative results. In the study, in the framework of material poverty, benefiting from institutions and aids, living in favorable house and safe environment, social participation and cultural adaptation and adaptation to norms which are determined as sub-aspects of social exclusion, social exclusion states of young criminals are investigated. In the field study in the sub-aspect of benefiting from institutions and aids, the least social exclusion has been measured. This result can be explained as an effect of sample's benefiting from the probation service which is a public service. The topmost social exclusion has been determined in the sub-aspect of social participation. In the study, sub-aspect of social participation is described particularly as the individual's social relations and his other connections. It is viewed that the negative experiences of young criminals in getting involved in social life and their perceptions of being exposed to the social exclusion have an influence in their level of social exclusion. This doctorate thesis study sets forth that social exclusion is a significant factor in accounting for the youth criminalism. Keywords: Social Exclusion, Youth, Youth Crime, Probation