Juvenile Delinquency

Programs that address the issue of juvenile delinquency include Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and Building Blocks for Youth. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is led by more than 3,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, other law enforcement leaders, and survivors of violent crime. The members of this group use social influence in combination with research to urge policy makers to work towards the prevention of juvenile delinquency and violence (www.fightcrime.org).

Building Blocks for Youth is another well established program that works to improve the juvenile justice system. Building Blocks for Youth is an alliance of youth advocates, researchers, law enforcement professionals, and community organizers. This program works to reduce the overrepresentation and disparate treatment of youth of color in the juvenile justice system. Building Blocks for Youth also seeks to promote fair, rational, and effective juvenile justice policies (www.buildingblocksforyouth.org).

Advocacy efforts made by community members are facilitated by well established groups like the ones mentioned above. It is the responsibility of all members of society to protect the rights of youth that are often overlooked by the juvenile justice system. Prevention of juvenile delinquency and intervention programs geared toward the rehabilitation of delinquent youth are less costly and more effective than the strict criminalization of juvenile delinquents. More research is needed to objectively determine all of the risk factors that involve the effective rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents.

By intervening in the lives of the children and adolescents who are at a high risk for developing antisocial and criminal behavior, we can prevent the social and economic consequences of ignoring the factors that predict negative outcomes.

References

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Farrington, D.P, &Loeber, R. (2000). Epidemiology of juvenile violence. Juvenile

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