Four in 10 teenagers believe that crime is the way to secure easy money, according to a survey released on Tuesday by Norwich Union and Crime Concern.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office told ePolitix.com: "While we welcome research into the views and attitudes of young people, it is ridiculous to suggest the crime pays.

"There are 73,000 people currently in Prison or the 200,000 or so people under probation supervision standing testament to the fact that it does not."The reality is that we know there is a significant gap between people's perception of crime and actual levels and effects of crime.

"For example, this survey shows that four in five of the six hundred or so young people interviewed are worried about becoming victims of crime. The British Crime Survey, which is the most authoritative and reliable indicator of crime trends which has measured these trends for 20 years shows that there are adults too who have high levels of worry about crime.

"The reality though is quite different: An individual's chance of being a victim of crime, at twenty per cent is at its lowest level for more than 20 years. This is the same level as 1981 and one-third lower than the forty per cent risk in 1995. The average household might expect to be a victim of burglary once every 50 years.

"There has been a significant, sustained fall in robbery largely due to the success of the government's Street Crime Initiative. Burglary is currently stable, but figures are at a historic low after large falls in the last few years.

"There has been a decrease in vehicle crime in the last year and figures are at a historic low point after large falls in the last few years.

"Overall violent crime is stable, though as a result of the NCRS there has been a considerable increase in recording of low-level thuggery and offences that involve no serious physical injury, such as a minor scuffle, and this has driven up the category that is referred to as 'violent crime'."

Forum Response: Norwich Union

Jill Willis, market development manager for Norwich Union Insurance, said: "Teenagers are often easy targets for people attempting to explain the rise in crime and often dismissed as the problem with society rather than seen as part of the solution.

"In funding the first of these Norwich Union apprentices, we will be responding directly to young people's experiences and fears and giving them the opportunity and forum to become involved in crime prevention measures at a grass roots level.

"As our research has shown, it is no longer sufficient to solely rely on preventative measures to reduce crime. If teenagers are growing up believing that crime does pay, we need hands on approaches like the apprenticeship scheme to offer alternative ways of thinking about and tackling crime."

Forum Response: National Youth Agency

A spokesman for the National Youth Agency told ePolitix.com: "The view of the NYA is that a combination of education, prevention and enforcement measures are needed to reduce crime by and against young people.

"The recent research study we undertook with The Nottingham Trent University showed that Youth Services across the country are positively contributing to youth crime initiatives. It uncovered a diverse range of good practice across the country in the complex and important area of young people, crime and justice.

"There are projects targeted on young people at risk of disengagement from school, through to those that work with young offenders and those at risk of re-offending. They help reduce crime, for example, by assisting young people through critical transitions and by imparting life and vocational skills.

"Such polls should be taken with a pinch of salt however. Similar polls with adults have come up with similar findings. When public opinion surveys ask a leading question such as "Do you think crime pays?" then the answer is likely to be 'yes'.

"Similarly, when asked a question such as 'what's the best deterrent?' many people opt for the most punitive one. Research evidence by the Home Office and others, however, shows that community sentences are at least as effective a deterrent as prison sentences - and much cheaper."