Setting these stories within the context of an astute knowledge of criminal - and more particularly youth justice - policy she conveys to her readers an understanding of how and why young people become offenders going far beyond that to be gained from standard interpretations of the statistics or theoretical works of criminology. Why Did You Do It? contains raw, first-hand accounts of the young people involved. These are stories which cast a somewhat different light on youth offending to that so often portrayed by the media, making this new and insightful work a valuable resource for anyone studying youth crime or criminal justice processes more generally. It is a balanced account of the pressure that many young people face and the triggers that can so easily see them onto the wrong side of the tracks. And it is also about how society should respond to them during a critical time in their lives. According to the author (paraphrased), the book offers: '...no magic bullets. It does not suggest a single way to eradicate crime.
What it does suggest is that young offenders themselves can often recognise that their behaviour has been problematic and that they have done wrong; they can also see what would help them to behave differently and they know what barriers there are that will make it very hard for them to behave any differently. It is high time that we gave proper attention to what they have to say' (from Chapter 1). With a Foreword by Paul MacDowell, Chief Executive of Nacro.