PREVENTION OF DELINQUENCY

Prevention of Delinquency

Prevention of Delinquency

Introduction

The field of crime prevention (both practice and research) has been dominated by opportunity reduction and victimization prevention approaches, as illustrated throughout this paper. These strategies for reducing criminal opportunities and protecting oneself (and loved ones) from victimization do not address the individual's predisposition to engage in criminal behavior, nor do they consider the larger social and economic conditions that contribute indirectly to criminality and drug abuse.

Discussion

The scholarly basis for the social crime prevention model can be extracted from extensive literatures on juvenile delinquency and gangs. After many decades of empirical work, criminologists in the second half of this century began to construct individual, social—structural, and social—process theories to explain criminality and delinquency. The social crime prevention approach is not grounded in a single theory of crime but is consistent with several approaches that have received heightened attention recently, including developmental and social control theories. The developmental and life—course approaches, which are supported by careful longitudinal research, attempt to understand how criminality and delinquency evolve from childhood to adulthood. These approaches bring needed attention to critical childhood events and decisions that shape antisocial behavior during adolescence and adulthood and underscore (indirectly) the importance of early intervention with high—risk youth before any contact with the criminal justice system. The developmental and life course studies, along with traditional research on juvenile delinquency, remind us that crime is largely a youth problem. Indeed, considerable data support the age—crime curve, which shows “on average, rates of offending rise rather rapidly during early adolescence, reach a peak in the late teenage years, and then begin a gradual but steady decline thereafter”. (Bartollas 2003)

This paper has only scratched the surface of innovative programs that fit within the general framework of social crime prevention. A wide variety of demonstrations or model initiatives have been developed and implemented over the past four decades, ranging from prenatal and early childhood services to employment opportunities for high—risk adolescents. In theory, programs that are responsive to known risk factors should be the most effective at preventing violence and related community problems. As a society, we need to understand that children face different risk factors at different points in their development, thus dictating the need for different interventions as the child grows. Furthermore, research suggests that risk factors are cumulative and that youths exposed to a larger number of risk factors are more likely to experience problems later on, including criminality. The implication is that comprehensive programs that attack multiple risk factors should have a greater preventive effect. (Dryfoos 2000)

Family Support Services

A broad range of research indicates that disadvantaged families run a high risk of having offspring with multiple problems. Teen pregnancy and childbearing are particularly acute problems in the United States; rates are substantially higher than those in other industrialized nations. The consequences of early births are severe and long—lasting. Unwed adolescent mothers are more likely to drop out of school, have more children, take low paying jobs, or turn to public ...