INTRODUCTIONSSocieties can sometimes be exposed to periods of moral panic. A condition, an episode, a person or a group of people appears as a threat to certain societal norms and interests. This phenomenon is described in a stylized and stereotypical manner and presented to the public through the moral perspective of editors, bishops, politicians and other influential people, whose principles define societal values. These people formulate their diagnosis and resort to certain ways of coping (even if, sometimes, the parties can agree and a way of coping can evolve). Once the disease has disappeared, submerged, or deteriorated, it becomes even more visible. Occasionally the subject of the panic is quite unusual, although it is usually a topic that has been debated for a long time, but suddenly appears in the spotlight. Sometimes the episode is neglected and forgotten, except in folklore and collective memory, but at other times it manages to create a serious impact, producing changes in legal and social policy or even in the way in which the society is conceived (Cohen, 2002). Since the war in Britain, the most recurrent types of moral panic have been associated with the emergence of various forms of youth (originally almost exclusively working class, but often recently middle class or student ) whose behavior is deviant or delinquent. To a greater or lesser degree, these cultures have been associated with violence. Teddy Boys, Mods and Rockers, Hells Angels, skinheads and hippies are all such phenomena (Cohen, 2002). Youth emerged as an emerging category in post-war Britain, constituting one of the most striking and visible manifestations of the social changes of this period. Youth...... middle of paper...... Treatment such as that presented can fuel a sense of rebellion among black youth against the system that has mistreated them. The criminal label placed on young black people in society leads society to define their actions as criminal and extend that judgment to them as people. Having been labeled, this criminality is expected to be expressed. With this stereotype attached, the general population will perceive them as criminals and treat them accordingly. This produces unexpected effects: the criminal label is intended to prevent individuals from participating in criminal activity, but it actually creates what it was intended to prevent. This produces a self-fulfilling prophecy which is defined as a false definition of a situation, evoking new behavior that makes the initial false assumption come true (Burke, 2005).