Changing Lives (Paperback, New edition)

One of the most astonishing aspects of juvenile crime is how little is known about the impact of the policies and programs put in place to fight it. As a result of this almost complete absence of evaluation, the most commonly used strategies and programs for combating juvenile delinquency problems primarily rely on intuition and fads. Fortunately, as a result of the promising new research documented in "Changing Lives," these deficiencies in our juvenile justice system might quickly be remedied.Peter W. Greenwood here demonstrates that as crimes rates have fallen, researchers have identified more connections between specific risk factors and criminal behavior, while program developers have discovered a wide array of innovative interventions. The result of all this activity, he reveals, has been the revelation of a few prevention models that reduce crime much more cost-effectively than popular approaches such as tougher sentencing, D.A.R.E., boot camps, and "scared straight" programs. "Changing Lives "expertly presents the most promising of these prevention programs, their histories, the quality of evidence to support their effectiveness, the public policy programs involved in bringing them into wider use, and the potential for investments and developmental research to increase the range and quality of programs. Combining compassion with common sense and clear prose with the most cutting-edge research available on the efficiency of delinquency prevention programs, "Changing Lives" should be read by any policymaker, attorney, criminologist, social worker, psychologist, or other worker faced with the task of trying to help rehabilitate young offenders.