NCJ Number
148705
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the Street Legal program in South Australia, the young offenders that program is targeting, the project team, its aims, its methods, and the reasons why the project is succeeding where previous programs have failed.
Abstract
The primary aim of Street Legal is to reduce the high incidence of motor vehicle theft. The program receives juveniles through court orders for 3 to 6 months and places them on an 8 to 12-week course that has two sessions of 3 contact hours each week. Trained mechanics, panel beaters, and spray painters provide practical training for the development of these skills. Participants are guided in the process of obtaining a car and rebuilding it to a roadworthy condition. In addition to repairing motor vehicles, participants also work on gocarts and Street Legal's own racing car. Street Legal raced its vehicles at the Adelaide speedway so that participants could experience legal, high- speed driving on a professional track. Street Legal has an 85-percent success rate. Of 100 juveniles who attended the program over 12 months, only 15 percent have reoffended. Of the remaining 85 percent, some have reentered the education system either full time or part time, and some have obtained full-time employment. Some have ceased offending or are no longer involved in alcohol and drug abuse. The author concludes that the Street Legal project has been an overall success. 1 reference