Prevention was viewed as easier than arresting or rehabilitating after the fact and as more efficient than law enforcement, secure confinement, or treatment. Hearing witnesses presented various proposals for juvenile justice prevention initiatives, in the form of testimony and prepared statements. Witnesses focused on the need to provide prevention and intervention programs for at-risk youth; the inappropriateness of holding youth in jails and police lockups; the importance of government involvement in prevention initiatives; and State, county, and city approaches to juvenile delinquency prevention, including youth gang programs, school-based health centers, and community-based juvenile services. Witnesses also addressed the need for family preservation, the problem of overcrowded juvenile detention facilities, the role of poverty and violence in urban neighborhoods in juvenile delinquency, the importance of youth involvement in neighborhood-based comprehensive youth centers, and funding issues in juvenile delinquency prevention.