Preventing Delinquency and Recidivism

In chapter twelve the book talks about preventing juvenile crime. Society has to remember that youths are going through an adolescence stage. So kid's cognitive skills are not fully development and they might act without thinking. It's important that society try to help reduce juvenile crime and try to have interventions so there won't be a high recidivism rate. Recidivism is a repeated offender or going back to jail. There's a lot factors for high recidivism rate. Studies has shown that the higher the at-risk environment, the more likely someone will recidivate (Measuring Recidivism 2008). Prevention is the creation of conditions, opportunities and experiences that encourage and develop healthy, self-sufficient children and that occur before the onset of problems (Arizona State Senate 2002). Prevention, efforts that help prevent a youth from entering the juvenile justice system as a delinquent (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice 2008).

There is two ways to classify prevention efforts. The two ways are prevention versus control and the three levels of delinquency prevention. Prevention is before the delinquent act and control is the measure that's taken after delinquent behavior. There's three kinds of prevention, corrective prevention, punitive prevention and Mechanical prevention. Corrective prevention goal is to eliminate the conditions that causes criminal behavior. Punitive prevention goal is to use punishment. Mechanical prevention goal is to tighten security. The three levels of delinquency are primary prevention, secondary prevention and Tertiary prevention. Primary prevention goal is to change society and the conditions that leads to criminal activity. Secondary prevention goal is to have interventions with individuals to deter them from crime. Tertiary prevention goal is to prevent recidivism.

Researchers has found out that anticrime programs don't work. Criminologist Lawrence W. Sherman and others review more than 500 scientific evaluations of crime-prevention programs funded by the Justice Department, with a special focus on factors relating to juvenile crime and program effects on youth violence, and concluded that the following programs don't work (Sherman et al. 1998, 7).  Programs such as gun buyback programs, boot camps, scared straight, Dare programs, Drug prevention and many more. Even though some of these programs don't work, it strengthens kid's relationships with family and school.

The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) is blueprints to find effective violence prevention programs to help communities implicate them. Out of 900 programs about 11 programs has shown results of reducing juvenile behavior, aggression, substance abuse and other behaviors. The Midwest Prevention Project (MPP) is a community based program for adolescent drug abuse prevention that targets ages 10 to 12. The goal is to reduce the use of gateway drugs. Big Brothers Big Sister of America (BBBS) is a mentor program. Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a family intervention program for youths ages 11 to 18. The goal is to reduce bad behavior. Life Skills Training (LST) is an in class program prevention of tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse. The goal of the program is to prevent early uses of substances.  Multisystemic Therapy (MST) evaluate kids who has antisocial disorders. The reduced of gun violence has put stricter restrictions on guns and also put officers in areas where gun crime happens. Gang prevention will have a major impact on reducing crime. Anti-gang programs like behavior codes, graffiti removal, conflict prevention strategies, crisis management and community involvement. The book discusses many more prevention programs that help reduce crime.

References

Arizona State Senate. 2002. Arizona Statute 8-201.

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. 2008. Florida Statute CH 985.03.

"Measuring Recidivism." 2008 (February 20). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.

Sherman, Lawrence W., Denise C. Gottfredson, Doris L. Mackenzie, John Eck, Peter Reuter, and Shawn D. Bushway. 1998 (July). Preventing crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising. Washington, DC: U.S Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice Research in Brief. (NCJ 171676).