* How and why have young people been marginalized by popular and academic opinion?
* Why is it that young people are increasingly seen as offenders?
* Is there room for a broader view of youth and crime based on recent research?

Youth has long been a central focus of the sociologies of crime, deviance and popular culture. This lively and accessible text reassesses the growing body of writing and research about crime and young people. It provides a critical introduction to the study of youth, crime and punishment within the context of a social construction of 'youth' which is continually defined as outside of society. Key features include an overview of the field, an examination of developments in policy and practice, and an assessment of 'new' trends in research and theory. Sheila Brown provides a resource for undergraduate students in criminology, sociology, social policy, and cultural studies in a format which repeatedly poses questions to the reader and offers signposts to further enquiry. At the same time she offers a critical treatment of the marginalization of young people in popular, policy and academic analysis and calls for a criminology that 'listens to youth'.