NCJ Number
183857
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 48 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2000 Pages: 111-113
Editor(s)
Bruce Cameron
Date Published
May 2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The New Zealand Police Service and the Crime Prevention Unit (CPU), a sub-unit of the Department of the Prime Minister, has operated 14 Youth at Risk pilot programs since 1997, and the programs have dramatically reduced juvenile crime and offered the potential to cut the cost of juvenile crime by millions of dollars.
Abstract
The programs identify and target children and families in need, with special emphasis on recidivist offenders and those at risk of becoming offenders. Broad objectives of the program were to improve education and health outcomes of juveniles at risk of offending, to improve the ability of communities to help juveniles at risk of offending, and to reduce the rate of recidivist offending. Specific program objectives are to develop a strategic approach to participant selection and program implementation, to build the supportive capacity of participant families, to foster the integration of police programs with other agency and community initiatives, and to serve as a demonstration project for the movement of police resources into proactive intervention. The 339 young people in the programs were responsible for about 1,500 offenses and incidents before the programs started. This figure dropped to 330, a decrease of 78 percent, after they joined the program. The drop included significant reductions in burglary, theft, vehicle offenses, willful damage, truancy, and running away. Program participants ranged in age from 8 to 18 years; 92 percent were between 11 and 17 years of age. In targeting children in need, the programs focus on family, school, and community. Some programs include a mentoring approach that matched adult volunteers with at-risk youth. Other programs are school-based but worked with groups of children inside and outside the school environment. A comprehensive evaluation process was designed to monitor the establishment and development of the programs and to assess their effectiveness in meeting CPU objectives; final evaluation reports are due in October 2000. 2 photographs