NCJ Number
206511
Date Published
June 2004
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This study examined the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP) begun in Philadelphia in 1999.
Abstract
In 1999, seeking to reduce Philadelphia's homicide rate and put violent youthful offenders on the path to a productive adulthood, various youth serving organizations and criminal justice agencies partnered to found the YVRP. This study examined the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP), an innovative effort to identify those youth in particular high crime neighborhoods and to offer them both increased support and opportunities and increased supervision and monitoring. The increased supervision also leads to greater likelihood that YVRP participants will be caught if they do commit a crime. The YVRP Operations Committee examines young offenders for acceptance in to the program under the following areas: criminal histories, demographic characteristics, the neighborhoods, and through personal interviews. YVRP attempts to keep its participants alive at 25 using two basic principles: steering participants away from violence through careful and constant supervision, and providing them with the necessary supports to set them on the path to productive adulthood through relationships with responsible, helpful adults. When the program began, public agencies in Philadelphia were criticized for not being able to work together. Despite the problems, four factors worked in YVRP's favor: a strong statistical case, strong leadership and support from city leaders, a willingness by both agency executives and front-line staff to take part in a solution, and a clear idea of how to tackle the problem. YVRP has been able to overcome administrative issues, as well as money and coordination problems, to implement the program successfully, while meeting most operational goals. Though YVRP has many important components, the early operational success of the program seems to hinge on four main conditions: strong leadership, an accountable collaboration, a commitment to reaching out to participants, and a clear theory of action. It is important to recognize that even though YVRP requires a higher financial investment than traditional probation, it is far less expansive than incarceration, and if it can prevent young offenders from becoming career criminals, it seems a wise investment. Tables, references, appendices