NCJ Number
216925
Date Published
2006
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This analysis of data on young delinquents and youth at risk of delinquency, with a focus on Germany and other European countries, draws lessons for community-level crime prevention efforts.
Abstract
An examination of data on general trends in juvenile delinquency concludes that although youth are prone to engage in various types of delinquent behavior, most of their offenses are minor, and most go undetected by the police. Only a small percentage of youth are habitual, violent offenders who come to the attention of police. A discussion of the role of the formal juvenile justice system in addressing juvenile offending notes that it is most effective when it interacts and cooperates with the community's informal social-control institutions that influence the behaviors and attitudes of youth. Another section of this paper identifies and describes 11 strategies, programs, and sanctions that research has shown to be effective in educating and treating young offenders and preventing juvenile crime. This is followed by a section that focuses on crime prevention efforts that target repeat juvenile offenders. After outlining the traditional three-area approach to crime prevention--primary crime prevention (targets the community as a whole), secondary crime prevention (targets youth at risk), and tertiary crime prevention (targets juvenile offenders to prevent reoffending)--this same scheme is applied to the prevention of victimization. Other sections of the paper address modern approaches in crime prevention, contradictions between crime prevention theory and practice, and the need for community crime-prevention initiatives and institutional structures. Also discussed are assessment scales for risk calculation and the development and management of flexible disposition and treatment systems. 12 figures