JUVENILE CRIME PREVENTION

Juvenile Crime Prevention Programmes in California

Juvenile Crime Prevention Programmes in California

Undoubtedly juvenile delinquency is one of the most important social phenomena in our society and is one of the most researched international criminological problems. We consider it important to treat the juvenile as a possible crime of today and tomorrow, for this reason this research was of great interest and have taken into account many different factors that include the problem, analyzing the legal measures that are used for treatment and rehabilitation of young offenders, helping us in relating to juvenile delinquency and a possible profile and factors that favor their behavior.

This paper focuses on the juvenile crime prevention programmes in California. Programmes are stated at the end of the paper to indicate what needs to be done to help create a stronger understanding of juvenile offenders and why it is important to do so. With current statics providing proof of decreasing juvenile crime rates Americans should be happy, but still should be a concerned for juveniles in contact with the juvenile justice system and admitted in the juvenile crime prevention programmes. It is obvious that juveniles today are America's tomorrow. Americans also need to focus more strongly on mental health and family background of the juvenile offenders in order to know the causes of their criminal behavior (Siegel, and Welsh, 2011).

Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act

Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) has consirebly proved to reduce the juvenile crimes at community level. This Act supports the Juvenile crime prevention community based programs. Correction Standard Authority (CSA) is responsible to plan such community based crime prevention programs for juveniles. These plan are approved by first of May each year after considering the facts and figures and extensive research over the past year. Juvenile community crime prevention arose partly from a growing realization among citizens that the police and the rest of the criminal justice system were failing in their attempts to reduce crime and to restore and maintain social order especially amonth the young offendors. Moreover, it had become increasingly clear that more police did not necessarily lead to less crime. In response, JJCPAs emphasize that the success of law enforcement depends heavily on the participation and cooperation of neighborhood residents and that some crime prevention activities are better conducted by residents themselves (Benekos, Melro, & Puzzanchera, 2011).

History and Foundations of Juvenile Crime Prevention Programs

Three national commissions have underscored the need for an active and involved citizenry that would engage in a variety of individual, household, and neighborhood activities to reduce crime in American communities. Juvenile Delinquency is essentially a local problem that must be dealt with by state and local governments if it is to be controlled effectively. This broad conception of community involvement acknowledged that law enforcement depends on citizen cooperation to successfully apprehend juveniles and solve crimes.

The government's decision to fund the Juvenile Crime Prevention Programs assumed that community organizations and local institutions play a critical role in creating and administering crime prevention efforts through their ...