Investing in Youth for a Safer Future

• NCJ Number: 247853
• Author(s): Sarah Ingersoll
• Date Published: April 1999
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description; Factsheet

Annotation

This Fact Sheet describes the features of the Investing in Youth for a Safer Future program, a public education campaign designed to educate every citizen about the need to invest time, resources, and support in effective prevention and intervention strategies on behalf of youth and to involve youth in this effort.

Abstract

The campaign is a partnership effort by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, working through the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign and the guidance of the Ad Council, which consists of major advertising agencies and corporate advertisers who volunteer to develop public service advertisements (PSAs). The youth PSAs are based on research that shows teens are motivated to become involved in crime prevention efforts. Accordingly, the youth PSAs urge youth to "prove adults wrong by doing something right." The adult PSAs focus on the importance of providing the support that youth need in their communities to become and remain crime free. Reminding the audience that "less crime is no accident," these PSAs inform adults that prevention and intervention programs work and need their support. The adult-targeted PSAs are used on television, radio, buses, billboards, kiosks, and in print media. They feature a toll-free telephone number. Adults who call this number receive a free, 20-page booklet that shows how they can support community programs that prevent and reduce juvenile crime. The adult PSAs also feature a Web site that provides information on effective program ideas and initiatives. 2 references and sources for further information