School- and Community-Based Juvenile Awareness Programs for Juvenile Delinquents and those At-Risk for Delinquency

• In Event: Evidence-Based Crime Policy I

Abstract

As indicated in our review of Scared Straight programs (Petrosino et al. 2013), juvenile delinquency involves illegal behavior committed by someone before reaching the age of majority. In most cases, juveniles are those who have not yet reached the age of 18 years. Although there is some variation of legal status with respect to juvenile classification, juvenile delinquents are defined as those who have been found guilty (adjudicated) of committing a law violation before they are 18 years of age. A significant percentage of crimes are committed by youthful offenders. Besides the problem of youth crime, offending as a juvenile is a risk factor for later involvement with the criminal justice system as an adult. Thus, governments everywhere are looking for effective interventions to address juvenile crime. Juvenile awareness programs (including those where offenders visit juvenile delinquents and pre-delinquents as well as those where prisoners visit these groups in the community) are intended to deter the would-be juvenile offender from involvement in criminal and/or delinquent activities. This paper reports on the results of a systematic review of juvenile awareness programs that occur outside of the prison environment. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Authors

• Anthony Petrosino, WestEd

• Meghan Elizabeth Hollis, Michigan State University