Firstly, African youth represent a significant proportion of the overall youth community who commit street-related offenses in Victoria. Street-related crimes are crimes such as burglary, robbery, and carjacking (Wright and Topalli 202). According to the Centre for Multicultural Youth (204), the rate of offenses committed by the Sudanese and Somali youth populations was 709. per 00,000 and 64.8 per 00,000 respectively. In contrast, 30.0 per 00,00 offenses were committed by the remaining wider youth community (Centre for Multicultural Youth 204). The substantial difference between African youth committing crime and other nationalities of offenders is reinforced by Hanrahan (208) who reported that Sudanese were the sixth largest group of offenders in Victoria from April 207 to March 208. Additionally, Victoria Police statistics highlight that the second highest group of alleged offenders were born in Sudan after New Zealand (Centre for Multicultural Youth 204). Based on these findings, it appears as though African youth crime is a critical issue. In fact, there are African youth groups engaging in serious street offenses which distress the general public. This is evident through various examples which have been continuously reported by the media. For example, on the 26th of May, four African teenagers invaded a Melbourne home and held a couple of hostages for half an hour, while stealing their car, jewelry, and computers. This was amongst a series of crimes committed by the same young men who also participated in carjackings, home invasions, and burglaries in a range of other Melbourne suburbs (Australian Associated Press 209). A media report by Duncan (208) draws a similar conclusion that young members of the African population were liable for causing havoc at the 208 Moomba festival. Using evidence such as camera footage, witnesses, and police testimonies, Duncan (208) conveys the reason behind the strong presence of police during the 208 Moomba festival was instigated by the high number of public arrests of African youth in the previous years of the Moomba festivals. The examples and statistics described above suggest that African youth crime
should not be overlooked because they are responsible for a significant percentage of street crimes. Instead, the underlying causes that contribute to African youth offenses should be examined and understood through Robert Agnews General Strain theory of crime.
Agnews theoretical framework argues that failing to accomplish a positively-valued goal motivates African youth to commit street-related crimes. To begin, Agnews theory claims that a specific strain experienced by an individual may lead to negative emotions such as anger and frustration (Agnew 203). Agnew defines strain as any situation that is disliked by an individual that causes them to become dissatisfied with themselves (Agnew 203). Strain is experienced by any individual, however, it manifests into crime if an individual is unable to cope with this strain in a legal manner (Agnew 992). Agnews theory can be applied to understand African Australian youth committing offenses, using unemployment as a potential cause. Unemployment is a strain because it is a failure of not being able to achieve ones monetary goals. Unemployment can manifest into anger which can then fuel youth into committing street crimes such as theft or burglaries in order to feel a sense of achievement (Agnew 203). For example, Morris (206) reported the story of a 4-year-old African Australian who was part of an African youth gang and was responsible for youth crime in Melbourne. The boy expressed his frustration over the lack of employment opportunities which contributed to his criminal offences. This highlights that employment is considered a monetary success and the 4-year-old African Australian attempted to achieve this positively-valued goal through illegitimate means of attaining money. Frustration and anger are significant emotions that are associated with a sense of power which encourages desires for retaliation (Baron 2006). In fact, Baron (2006) argues that anger is a crucial cause of street crime. Therefore, Agnews theory suggests the importance of identifying interventions that minimize the anger experienced by African Australian youth from unemployment, which motivates them to engage in street crimes.