A Message From OJJDP

The first step in solving any problem is to determine its causes. The most obvious solution may not be the best. When the problem is juvenile delinquency, the cost—in terms of human potential, public safety, and tax expenditures—is especially high. Research that assesses how and why children become delinquent is a sound investment because it can provide the foundation for effective intervention. This issue of Juvenile Justice focuses on such research and its value in preventing and combating delinquency.

The Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency works to improve the understanding of serious delinquency, violence, and drug use by examining youth development in the context of family, school, peers, and community. Researchers at the program's three sites are tracking the experiences of large samples of high-risk children throughout their developmental years. This longitudinal research provides important insights for program design, as principal investigators Terence Thornberry, David Huizinga, and Rolf Loeber note in their review of the studies' “Findings and Policy Implications.”

A major finding from the Causes and Correlates studies is an association between gang involvement and delinquent behavior. Phelan Wyrick and James Howell discuss how communities can use research on risk factors to address their local gang problems more effectively through a “Strategic Risk-Based Response.”

In this issue's In Brief section, Susan Chibnall and Kate Abbruzzese describe how three communities made measurable inroads against delinquency by addressing risk factors. Publications that can help communities identify their own risk factors and take action to create a brighter future for their children are also noted.

J. Robert Flores
Administrator