Preventing Juvenile Crime, Essay Example

The question of how to prevent Juvenile Crime has troubled the law enforcement community persistently. Yet recent changes have improved the lot of Juvenile Delinquents significantly. Two of the most successful changes are the implementation of education in Juvenile Justice Programs and the inclusion of the community in addressing Juvenile crime.

Khromina highlights the importance in making education a part of juvenile rehabilitation, noting that programs which do not nurture delinquents or prepare them for re-entry, leave juveniles more likely to re-offend, less likely to care about the community,  and even resentful of a society which has not supported them. Convictions, she says, often spoil children’s chances of succeeding through legitimate means and make them turn toward a life of crime.

On the other hand, some argue that rehabilitative measures such as educational programs are too costly and that they do not prevent juveniles from reoffending. There is some evidence to back up these claims. For instance, last year, The Los Angeles Times reported that the majority of children who went into group probation homes, rather than simply remaining in prison, re-offended within a year (Therolf, 2009). Nevertheless, Lochner and Moretti’s empirical studies show that educating criminals generally does decrease recidivism and that even preventing high school students from dropping out can significantly reduce crime (Lochner & Moretti, 2004).

There is also evidence to suggest that community-based efforts are successful in preventing juvenile crime Community involvement is beneficial to law enforcement, as community members are often closer to crimes and know the intimate details of juveniles’ lives, habits and whereabouts. Furthermore, many speculate that individuals who participate in communities are less likely to offend than those who are isolated. On the other hand, Bartollas and Miller point out that critics of studies showing that juveniles involved in community-based prevention plans have a lower recidivism rates tend to single out students most likely to succeed to participate in such programs (Bartollas & Miller, 2008).