The Prevention Function INTRODUCTION This chapter concentrates on particular prevention strategies which the state and local units of government can consider in the development of their comprehensive plans. Because of the need for local problem identification and planning, and the uncertainty surrounding the impact of particular prevention efforts, the programmatic concepts contained in this chapter are presented as suggestions and points of reference for local, state, and federal decision makers rather than as prescriptive national standards. To facilitate the development of an ordered prevention plan, the suggested strategies have been arranged so as to illuminate the theoretical perspective on which they are based, the type of actions required to implement them, and the institution or activity which they emphasize. Before examining the strategies and the manner in which they are presented, delinquency prevention itself must be defined. It was the conclusion of the National Advisory Committee that delinquency prevention should be viewed as: A process and the activities resulting from that process directed at encouraging law-abiding conduct and reducing the incidence of criminal activity of all youth under eighteen years of age except those who are receiving services on other than a voluntary basis as a result of contact with the juvenile justice system. The Committee concluded further that the process and activities should be focused on assisting youth who lack appropriate access to family, school, and community conditions which promote law-abiding behavior, and understood a delinquent act to be a violation of a federal, state, or local statute or ordinance by a juvenile which would be designated as criminal if committed by an adult. See Standard 3.111. A number of commentators have limited the definition of prevention to measures taken before a criminal act has actually occurred. See, e.g., A. Cardarelli, J. P. Walker, and D. L. Billingsly, The Theory and Practice of Delinquency Prevention in the United States: A Review, Synthesis and Assessment 14 (1976). However, the Committee observed that although self-report surveys indicate the overwhelming majority or youth violate the criminal law once before their eighteenth birthday, relatively few commit repeated delinquent acts. Hence, limiting prevention to measures taken before commission of a delinquent act would, at least initially, severely limit the scope of prevention programs. The Committee noted further, that even after intervention on the basis of alleged delinquent conduct, most juveniles are not referred to the intake unit or the family court because of the insignificant nature of the act, the juvenile's age and prior conduct, and the availability of service alternatives. See Introduction to the Chapter on the Intervention Function, and Standards 2.11, 2.21, 2.221, and 3.342-3.343. Thus, law enforcement agencies or service programs, working with them, divert youth from the juvenile justice process, not only preventing further entry into the system, but also playing an important role, in many instances, in preventing the reoccurrence of delinquency. The National Advisory Committee concluded that where this diversion occurs without continuing supervision or the threat of prosecution if an offer of services is declined either initially or over a period of time, it properly remains within the realm of prevention. However, this does not imply that agencies and organizations providing prevention services could not also provide the same services for rehabiliative purposes. As noted above, the framework used to present the suggested program strategies is designed to clarify the links between these strategies and the theories on the causes of delinquency. While it is recognized that the array of programs operating in most communities owe their existence to political considerations more than to the acceptance of any one theoretical model for reducing delinquency, the attempt to set forth these linkages is premised on the belief that identifying the underlying assumptions of proposed program strategies will help to coordinate the service delivery system and avoid the waste and frustration of having programs aimed at achieving the same objective, work against each other. The framework is divided into four levels: Theoretical Focal Point Type of Prevention The first level groups the various theories which attempt to explain why delinquency exists into three Focal Points: The Individual, Social Institutions, and Social Interaction. The Focal Point on the Individual includes a wide range of psychological and psychoanalytic theories which address the emotional or attitudinal complexes that underlie delinquent behavior. These theories encourage programs which rely on "increas[ing] self-understanding so that the individual can function in a prosocial manner in the home, school, work and/or the community." Cardarelli, supra at 22. The Social Institutions Focal Point includes those theories which address the manner in which cultural and/or social patterns and institutions influence individuals to conform or deviate from societal norms. This perspective supports efforts for societal and institutional reform which will allow families to raise children who will act in a prosocial manner. Cardarelli, supra at 23. Theories which examine the extent and quality of the relationships that occur within families, peer groups, racial and other societal groups in order to explain why delinquency exists are subsumed under the rubric of Social Interaction. This approach directs attention to the orientation process through which youth are labeled, and societal reaction to the deviant behavior. These theories urge programs which promote societal flexibility and tolerance as a means of decreasing the negative stigmatization associated with the official labeling process. Cardarelli, supra at 23. The second level of the classification system, the types of prevention, refers to the manner in which specific strategies are employed. Four types of prevention are identified: Corrective Redefinition Corrective prevention strategies address the conditions which are believed to cause or lead to delinquent or criminal activity-e.g., poverty or a lack of adequate educational opportunities. This category constitutes the most common types of prevention. It is based on the principle that deviant behavior can be corrected through the elimination or neutralization of the causes of that behavior, and that juveniles exhibiting the deviant behavior tendencies can be prevented from becoming adjudicated delinquents through the correction of the conditions responsible for generating the delinquency behavior. See Cardarelli, supra at 15. Instructional prevention relies on the threat of punishment to deter potential violators. This deterrence process attempts to discourage the potential offender by increasing the chances of detection, the penalty for delinquent behavior, and the awareness of those chances and penalties. National Task Force to Develop Standards and Goals for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Preventing Delinquency-A Comparative Analysis of Current Delinquency Prevention Theories (1977). Mechanical prevention includes strategies designed to make commission of delinquent acts more difficult through police or citizen surveillance, improved security, anti-theft procedures and environmental design. It also includes alteration of individual behavior patterns to limit vulnerability to crime. See Cardarelli, supra at 15; Report of the Task Force, supra. The final type of prevention-redefinition-incorporates efforts to limit stigmatization by modifying or eliminating prohibitions and penalties for specific types of delinquent activity. See generally Report of the Task Force, supra. The specific strategies under each Focal Point and Type, are divided into Areas of Emphasis roughly equivalent to the division of responsibilities among governmental agencies and private organizations. These Areas of Emphasis include the family, education, employment, health, recreation, religion, justice system, housing, and the media. Thus, a person with an interest in family services, for example, would examine the strategies listed under the Family (F) area of emphasis under each of the relevant theoretical and operational approaches. It should be clearly understood that this list of strategies is not exhaustive nor intended to constitute a definitive "national youth policy." Rather, the strategies reflect issues which the National Advisory Committee believes are of particular importance. As indicated earlier, they are set forth as points of reference to assist states and local communities in developing broad, well-integrated plans, programs and policies, tailored to their specific needs and priorities. The national policies will evolve as these plans and programs are implemented and additional information about what measures are effective in preventing delinquency becomes available. |