Youth violence studied
WASHINGTON (AP) – Boot camps and other “get tough” program for adolescents do not prevent criminal behavior, as intended, and may make the problem even worse, an expert panel concluded Friday. Further, laws transferring juveniles into the adult court system lead these teens to commit more violence and do not deter others from committing crime, the panel said.
More promising, it said, are programs that offer intensive counseling for families and young people at risk.
The 13-member panel of experts, convened by the National Institutes of Health, reviewed the available scientific evidence to look for consensus on causes of youth violence and ways to prevent it.
Youth violence has declined from its peak a decade ago but violent crime rates are still high, the panel said. The causes of youth violence were varied.
The trouble with boot camps, group detention centers and other “get tough” programs is they bring together young people who are inclined toward violence and teach each other how to commit more crime, the panel said: “The more sophisticated (teens) instruct the more naive in precisely the behaviors that the intervener wishes to prevent.”
It also rejected programs that “consist largely of adults lecturing,” like DARE.
One barrier to implementing effective programs, the report said, is resistance from people operating ineffective programs who depend on them for their jobs.
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National Institutes of Health consensus conferences:
http://consensus.nih.gov/