If someone asked you whether you had ever committed a crime, what would you say? What is a crime anyway? Most people would say that a crime is committed when the law is broken - but how clear are you about the law?

Take a look at each of the situations below. Can you say which ones are ‘crimes’? Discuss each with your friends/class - write down your thoughts.

Is it a crime - Yes/No? True/False

1. Being driven in a car you know to be stolen / or to be driven by someone without a licence.
2. Stealing from family members
3. Hoax 999
4. Anti-social behaviour - riding monkey bikes (motorised) on grass
5. Age of consent - buying cigarettes under the age of 16
6. Smoking cannabis
7. Finding something and not handing it in...
8. It is raining and your bus has not turned up. Your friend (aged 13) drives up in a car. He offers you a lift home - you accept.
9. Your Mum has gone out - but you need some money to take with you to youth club. Your Mum’s handbag on the floor. You reach in and take three one pound coins from her purse.
10. Summer evenings are really boring. You make hoax 999 calls just for laughs.
11. You are 12 but look older. You buy your cigarettes from the newsagent on the corner.
12. Last week you found a five pound note by the bench in the park. You kept the money and spent it over the weekend.
13. A few young people near you have motorised scooters. Their favourite place to ride them is on the grass verge near the shops.
14. There has been a lot in the news lately about Cannabis. You and your friends decide to give it a try.

The Impact on Others...

How would each of the situations discussed above affect others in the community?

1. Being driven in a car you know to be stolen / or to be driven by someone without a licence.
2. Stealing from family members
3. Hoax 999
4. Anti-social behaviour - riding monkey bikes (motorised) on grass
5. Age of consent - buying cigarettes under the age of 16
6. Smoking cannabis
7. Finding something and not handing it in...

Discuss the above with your friends/class.