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EARLY INTERVENTION AS A CRIME PREVENTION STRATEGY: ASSESSING THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

NASH, JULIA CHRISTINE
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148064221

Abstract Details

2006, MS, University of Cincinnati, Education : Criminal Justice.
Youth violence can be prevented. Despite the “get tough” rhetoric and the political and popular media depictions that juvenile “super-predators” are hardened criminals without possibilities of rehabilitation who should be caged and punished accordingly, we do know how to prevent and reduce crime and delinquency. Moreover, the “get-tough,” punishment-oriented crime policies of the last twenty-five years do not reduce crime—and in some cases are counterproductive. However, the knowledge base for life-course criminology and early intervention has drastically expanded in the last two decades. There is a substantial body of evidence that exists in support of early intervention programs to appreciably prevent and reduce criminality in our society. Early intervention is the preferred strategy for addressing the causes of crime explicated by life-course criminology. Life-course criminology postulates that, in order to prevent crime, we must first understand how antisocial behavior develops so as to enable us to construct effective intervention strategies that interrupt the adverse life trajectory. Specifically, life-course criminology has found that early childhood factors are significant precursors of future behavior—that is, youths exposed to certain risk factors predictive of criminality in their families, in school, among peers, and in their environments are at high-risk for becoming serious, violent, and chronic offenders. Early intervention endeavors to address these correlates of crime as early in the life-course as possible in order to intercede prior to the accumulation of multiple problems and offenses. This project reviews the empirical data pertaining to early intervention. Risk-factors and protective factors in the individual, family, peer group, school, and environment that are predictive of, or insulate from, the development of antisocial behavior are described. Reviews of the relevant early intervention strategies—within the family, in schools, in multiple systems, and in the juvenile justice system—are discussed, including narrative descriptions of the most effective programs. The “principles for effective intervention” and proper program implementation are presented. Many early intervention programs have demonstrated positive, long-term effects for preventing and reducing serious, violent, and chronic delinquency. In light of this finding, far too many years have been squandered away on “get-tough” harsh, punitive policies that have not reduced crime—and at times have made matters worse by increasing recidivism rates. It should be instructive that no reputable doctor would impose a medical treatment that had not been shown to be effective. Similarly, no practical business would invest enormous sums of money into a venture that was not profitable. The juvenile and criminal justice systems should not be involved in such “correctional quackery” either. “Get-tough” has not worked; therefore, it is time to “get-smart.” The time is now to design a broader, more comprehensive crime policy that encompasses families, schools, neighborhoods, and the juvenile justice system. The principal objective of the present project is to summarize what is known about early intervention, to discover if there is a need for early intervention programming, to review current early intervention approaches and their effectiveness, and to determine, based upon the empirical evidence, if early intervention—“child-saving”—is a prudent correctional practice strategy.
Dr. Francis Cullen (Advisor)
104 p.
early intervention; crime prevention; Functional Family Therapy; Multisystemic Therapy; Juvenile Justice System; Juvenile Justice; Cost Effectiveness; Public Policy; cognitive behavioral

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • NASH, J. C. (2006). EARLY INTERVENTION AS A CRIME PREVENTION STRATEGY: ASSESSING THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148064221

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • NASH, JULIA. EARLY INTERVENTION AS A CRIME PREVENTION STRATEGY: ASSESSING THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE. 2006. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148064221.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • NASH, JULIA. "EARLY INTERVENTION AS A CRIME PREVENTION STRATEGY: ASSESSING THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148064221

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2006, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.