NCJ Number
183068
Date Published
1998
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) contends that the Federal Government has a major role to play in dealing with rising juvenile crime and in identifying the best juvenile crime control strategies; on the other hand, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation argues that the Federal Government has made matters worse by promoting false explanations of crime and by ignoring the vital roles of family, school, and church in reducing juvenile crime.
Abstract
In 1996, according to OJJDP statistics, 37 percent of burglary arrests, 32 percent of robbery arrests, 24 percent of weapons arrests, and 15 percent of homicide and aggravated assault arrests involved juveniles. The OJJDP believes that it has made great progress in identifying effective and promising prevention, intervention, and treatment programs and practices. Goals of the OJJDP are to strengthen the juvenile justice system; target youth violence related to guns, gangs, and drugs; provide opportunities for young people; strengthen families to break the cycle of violence; and mobilize communities. The senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation feels that policymakers are blind to the personal aspects of crime, including moral failure. Instead of advocating a major Federal role in juvenile crime prevention, he believes that government lacks both the capacity and the competence to tackle the root causes of crime and that these causes should be addressed by other basic institutions in society such as family, church, and school. The senior fellow does, however, outline steps the Federal Government can effectively take to address juvenile crime.