Identifying Youth At Risk of Delinquency
Seasoned law enforcement officers in departments around the country have come to recognize early warning signs for later delinquency. Responding to calls, officers enter homes where youth have been exposed to domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, gang activity, neglect, and other criminal behavior. Officers see youth who have been exposed to crime and violence on the streets, in their schools, and among their peers. Many experienced officers know delinquent youth whose first encounters with law enforcement were as victims of crime or as family members of someone who was arrested. Officers frequently recognize that such victimization experiences and exposure to criminal and delinquent family members are related to later offending.
Current research on the risk factors that distinguish youth who are more likely to become involved in delinquency from those who are less likely to do so confirms and expands on what some law enforcement officers already know. Risk factors can be defined as conditions in the environment or in the individual that predict an increased likelihood of developing delinquent behavior (Brewer et al., 1995). Risk factors for delinquency and violence are generally described in five categories: community, individual, peer group, school related, and family (Brewer et al., 1995; Hawkins et al., 1998). Community risk factors include poverty, physical deterioration, availability of drugs, and high crime rates. Individual risk factors include childhood hyperactivity, aggressiveness, and risk taking. Peer group risk factors include association with a peer group that has favorable attitudes toward delinquency and gang membership. School-related risk factors include early and persistent antisocial behavior and academic failure. Finally, family risk factors include family conflict, family management problems (e.g., failure of caretakers to set clear expectations, lack of supervision, and excessively severe punishment), and
favorable attitudes toward and involvement in crime and violence (for further discussion of risk factors for delinquency see Gottfredson and Polakowski, 1995; Howell, 1997; Hawkins et al., 2000).
OJJDP’s longitudinal, prospective research on the causes and correlates of delinquency has found that delinquency and violent behavior stem from the accumulation and interaction of risk factors in the five categories described above (Thornberry, Huizinga, and Loeber, 1995; Hawkins et al., 1998). The probability of violence and delinquency increases (sometimes dramatically) with increases in the number of risk factors (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1998). For example, a study of 411 South London boys found that the percentage of boys convicted for violence more than doubled in the presence of 1 risk factor but increased tenfold in the presence of 4 or 5 risk factors (Farrington, 1997).
Researchers have also identified a number of protective factors that provide a buffer against risk factors (Hawkins, Catalano, and Miller, 1992; Thornberry, Huizinga, and Loeber, 1995). These include individual factors (e.g., high intelligence and positive social orientation), factors related to social bonding (e.g., supportive relationships with family members or other adults), and healthy beliefs and clear standards of behavior (e.g., norms that oppose crime and violence). Because protective factors also tend to have cumulative effects, youth who have or are exposed to a large number of protective factors show greater resilience in coping with the risk factors in their lives than do those with fewer protective factors.
Although the understanding of risk and protective factors is increasing, questions remain about how police and sheriff’s departments can best use this information. Law enforcement administrators who want to prevent delinquency may be discouraged by the perceived practical difficulties of coordinating a prevention program, especially because most departments are already very busy just responding to calls for service. Administrators at the Westminster, CA, Police Department considered these issues when they created the SHIELD program. Instead of designing a program in which services are delivered directly by the police department, they developed a coordinated mechanism that uses a multidisciplinary team to identify at-risk youth and connect them to existing services in the community.
| Previous | Contents | Next |
 |
|
| Law Enforcement Referral of At-Risk Youth: The SHIELD Program |
|