Introduction

Faced with precipitously rising rates of youth violence in the Nation's Capital, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in 1995 funded congressionally mandated research on juvenile violence in the District of Columbia. The research was intended to examine this trend and recommend potential means for reducing violence among youth in DC. One part of the research, carried out by The Urban Institute, focused on identifying where and when violence involving children was taking place in the District. Other studies, completed by the Institute of Law and Justice (ILJ), sought to describe DC's juvenile justice system and to examine the characteristics of children in three areas in the city identified by The Urban Institute as having the highest rates of juvenile homicide and violence.

This Bulletin presents the findings of research conducted by LINC¹ which examined the types of delinquent behavior found among boys living in the three most violent neighborhoods in DC and the role of basic institutions such as families, schools, churches, and youth-serving organizations in those boys' lives. As set forth in detail below, the findings of LINC's research (referred to in this Bulletin as "the LINC Study" or "the study") are based on statistical analyses of data collected by ILJ in interviews with a random sample of boys. Findings are also based on LINC's interviews of administrators and staff members of national youth-serving organizations with regional offices in DC and local organizations that receive funds for delinquency prevention. Written materials provided by these organizations were also used as sources of information.

The LINC study was based on theory and prior research from two scientific disciplines: criminology and youth development. Criminologists recognize that although many people, including children, break laws, only a few become persistent offenders who commit numerous serious crimes. Research on youth development indicates that even under the worst conditions, many children and adolescents are resilient and, given an opportunity to learn and practice social skills, most can become productive and self-sufficient adults. The LINC research concentrated on determining the characteristics of the DC boys who were delinquent and identifying resources for social skill building available to these boys.

The nature of many of LINC's findings will not surprise practitioners, policymakers, and researchers familiar with patterns of juvenile violence and the deep problems plaguing the Nation's Capital. LINC found, for instance, that the majority of adolescent boys in the study sample have basic needs that are unmet. Many are unsupervised and unsupported by families, schools, and community organizations that could teach them skills needed to lead productive lives. The most seriously delinquent boys, the study found, are alienated—even from other youth in the neighborhood—and struggling to earn money (both legally and illegally).

LINC also found several barriers to effective delivery of youth services in DC. Unlike many cities that have made progress fighting juvenile violence, DC has too few adults actively working with and guiding youth in its most dangerous neighborhoods. Given significant cuts in funding and other resources, youth-serving organizations in DC have been forced to compete for the scarce resources that remain available.

Notwithstanding such discouraging findings, LINC believes that conditions in DC—even in the worst neighborhoods—can improve. It found, for example, that a large percentage (22 percent) of adolescent boys in violent neighborhoods in DC resist committing any criminal acts. Even among boys who are delinquent, most limit themselves to relatively less serious patterns of delinquency (i.e., theft and other property crimes or occasional fights). Some of the most seriously delinquent children in DC (e.g., those who have committed a robbery)² are reaching out to adults for guidance. LINC also found that hundreds of adults living in DC are willing to be trained to meet the basic developmental needs of delinquent youth.

The findings of the LINC study and LINC's subsequent comparison of DC with other cities in the Nation raise several policy implications. To involve more adults in youth development and improve conditions for youth in DC, the District will need to devote additional resources to the development of leadership, coordination, and strategic planning for youth. Based on studies of other cities' responses to crime, violence, and juvenile delinquency, LINC suggests specific actions that need to be taken for DC to address, and eventually reduce, problems with crime, violence, and juvenile delinquency.

Violent Neighborhoods, Violent Kids	Juvenile Justice Bulletin   ·  March 2000