-->
All it took
was for someone to believe in her; someone to help her believe in herself. In
my five years of working with youth in Delinquency Prevention Programs, the few
success stories were well worth the effort.
“I have
learned that if I believe in myself then I can do anything I set myself to. You
helped me start a new life and I can’t wait to be like you when I am in
College” Shea, age 16. Shea was a young lady that I worked with last
year in a local delinquency prevention program. Coming from a single parent
home, where abuse and drug use was normal, Shea had learned to express her
anger through violent outlets such as fighting, vandalizing, yelling, or
bullying. Shea and I spent about a year working together. By the end of the year,
she had grown into a well-rounded young lady.
Everyday we
are pushed to do things in order to better our lives, work, school, shop, etc. Just like
many adults, young deviants have the same goals, but different means. The
question is, where are societies young deviants getting that their means of
success come from committing crime?
According to
Goldberg (2007) , “Homicide is the second leading cause of death in 15 to 10
year-olds in the United States. An estimated 72% of all homicide ages 12 and
older are due to firearm-related injuries.” Thisr study analyzed a group of
juvenile delinquents who had been exposed to violence, victimized, and
committed acts of violence themselves. When asked if they would shoot at
someone in a “rival gangs territory”, the juveniles agreed that ; “It’s O.K. to
hurt or shoot someone: to get what you want; to get respect; in self defense;
because he’s from a rival gang, and or because he doesn’t belong in your
neighborhood.” From their responses, it was apparent the juveniles had learned
this behavior from their peers, friends, or neighborhood they grew up in. This
study proved that youth who grow up in a violent environment are more likely to
become violent themselves. The Social Learning Theory has a good explanation
for what the effect of learned behavior has on delinquent behavior.
The Social
Learning theory focuses on how behavior can be learned at the cognitive level
through observing other people’s actions. According to Ronald L. Akers, el at,
the social learning theory explains people
learn from interaction with significant groups in their lives, both positive or
negative. . The more individuals
who define their interactions as positive, the more likely they are to engage
in it (1979).These individuals believe they are gaining from the deviant
behavior so they don’t see it as bad. They have learned it is easier to get what he/she wants if
they are part of these behaviors. These juveniles are learning how to live a
life style of a criminal, however, they see it as a positive course of action.
If our society can change the view of what is a positive reward then we may
have a chance keeping these delinquents out of trouble.
The Delinquency
Prevention Program has been one organization that has continued to evolve over
the years and has had a huge impact on the positive learning of deviant youth.
Like mine, many success stories have come from these programs.These programs
originated in the early 1970’s. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency and
Prevention Act of 1974 provided states and localities with money, training and
technical assistance for delinquency prevention programs and expanded
protections for children who ended up in custody, (Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, press release, November 1999). Today, high-risk
youth are getting support from delinquency programs that are funded by this
Act. There are many different programs that have been developed with the same
goal in mind, to keep or restart today’s youth on the path to success.
The newest
forms of delinquency prevention programs are Evidence-based practices.
These programs are based on scientific facts that assess the evidence of the
program’s effectiveness. From there it develops principles that work best for
each program dynamic, (Greenwood, 2006). The hope for these
evidence-based practices is to make prevention programs more successful and
eliminate the programs that are not successful and are still receiving funding.
In the near future, these programs will be the most successful of the
prevention programs because they are based more on research then assumption.
As long as
there are delinquents that are learning from their criminal up bringing, there
will be delinquent behavior. If we have the chance to step into that learning
experience and place a positive influence on deviant behavior we will make a
difference in their lives. The number one hands on way of doing so is to
continue evolving the delinquency prevention programs.
References:
Akers, Ronald, Marvin Krohn, Lonn
Lanza-Kaduce, and Marcia Radosevich. "Social
Learning and Deviant Behavior: A
Specific Test of a General Theory." American Sociological Review. 44.(1979): 636-655.
Greenwood,
Peter W. 2006. Changing Lives: Delinquency Prevention as Crime-Control.
Chicago , IL :
University of Chicago Press.
Goldberg,
Julie. "Worldview of High-risk Juvenile Delinquents: Relationships to
Decisions to Shoot." Criminal Justice and Behavior. (2007): 846-861.
Maschi,
Tina, Carolyn Bradley, and Keith Morgen. "Unraveling the Link Between Trauma
and Delinquency: The Mediationg Role of Negative Affect and Delinquent Peer
Exposure." Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. 6.2 (2008): 136-157.
and Delinquency: The Mediationg Role of Negative Affect and Delinquent Peer
Exposure." Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. 6.2 (2008): 136-157.
