November 2, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
Less Hype, More Help: Reducing Juvenile Crime, What Works–and What Doesn’t, by Richard A. Mendel, presents the results of a nine-month study of programs across the nation that have been successful in reducing and preventing juvenile crime. The study’s findings suggest that youth crime and violence can be reduced without major spending increases, but that policy makers should heed lessons from previous efforts. “Get tough” approaches in which juvenile offenders are prosecuted in court as adults have proved ineffective in preventing juvenile crimes, Mr. Mendel writes. On the other hand, programs that provide therapy for juvenile delinquents have been successful in decreasing crime among young people. Strategies such as “multi-dimensional family therapy,” which treat the behavioral problems of both children and their parents, Mr. Mendel explains, have “dramatically reduced problem behaviors among troubled children and adolescents.”
