Austria is a case study that assists in understanding the response of elites in more autocratic states to the rapid industrial and demographic changes that occurred in the late 19th century. The findings of this analysis suggest that elites created a youth crime panic because of heightened fears of a changing economic, social, and political environment that appeared to threaten traditional relationships. After examining public perceptions, the essay analyzes crime figures and the nature of youth "crimes" in order to show how the image of a "dangerous" youth was constructed. Although a few studies have suggested that youth crime was exaggerated during this time, none has combined an examination of public perceptions with a systematic look at the nature of youth violations. This study also confirms that one of the best ways to study a society is to examine how it treats its youth. The dominant Austrian image of a "dangerous" youth rather than that of an "endangered" youth continued to thwart the reform objectives of developing punishments other than incarceration to deal with what was perceived as the youth "problem." Moreover, the Austrian judiciary, much as their German counterparts, was more concerned with protecting society than the individual and tended to act only when legal statutes permitted it compared to the much greater freedom of action of United States courts, especially the newly established youth courts. 117 notes