Neutralization Techniques, Crime Decision-making and Juvenile Thieves

Theft is the most common criminal offence committed by juveniles and youngsters in Hong Kong. Based upon the qualitative data abstracted from semi-structured interviews with 30 subjects aged from 10 to 17, the author examined the decision-making of juvenile thieves, and found that neutralization techniques played a significant role in their decisions to offend. A majority of subjects of the study relied on three particular types of neutralization techniques to release themselves from discomfort and guilty feeling of criminal acts, namely (1) the denial of possible risk and harm, (2) denial of responsibility and (3) condemnation of others.