This study proceeds from the understanding that the past three decades have witnessed a shift in the state response to crime across Western Europe. It focuses on two mechanisms that the research literature has identified as important for this shift in crime policy, namely crime trends and ideology. From an examination of the evidence on crime trends, it is concluded that these do not constitute a fully satisfactory explanation. Instead, the changes in the state response to crime probably arise from a clear political dynamic. There exist clear differences in the way youth crime has been viewed by the different political camps during the period 1970-99. Crime is a social problem that is primarily placed on the political agenda by conservatives when social democratic governments are in power.
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