Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders: Risk Factors and Successful Interventions

Abstract

* Serious and violent juvenile (SVJ) offenders comprise a population of youths with unique characteristics and needs. Serious and violent offenses include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and kidnapping. Although the rate at which serious and violent offenses occur has decreased in recent years, the seriousness and the consequences of these crimes have a much greater impact on our society. Chronic offenders account for more than half of all serious crimes committed by juveniles, and the vast majority of chronic offenders commit serious and violent acts. The delinquency careers of SVJ offenders are vastly different from those of nonviolent offenders, according to official records. In this edited book, editors Loeber and Farrington attempt to examine the origins of these serious criminal careers and the effectiveness of intervention or prevention programs. The book reviews risk and protective factors in the hope that specific knowledge about this unique population will generate effective intervention programs. It also examines the need for future research on SVJ offenders as an important ingredient in developing effective programming. Part I addresses the developmental course and risk factors characteristic of SVJ offenders. Loeber, Farrington, and Waschbush discuss the overlap between chronic offenders and serious and violent offenders. The fact that many SVJ offenders begin their careers earlier and the juvenile justice system's reluctance to deal with young offenders at the beginning of their delinquent careers is addressed as a serious concern. Hawkins, Laub, and Lauritsen examine the relationship between race and ethnicity and SVJ offending and find that although African-- American youths have disproportionately higher rates of SV) offending, social ecological factors appear to be more important than race alone. Huizinga and Jakob-Chien look at the overlap between other behavior problems and serious and violent offending, and Tolan and Gorman-Smith discuss the behavioral precursors to such serious offending and the development of SVJ careers. Lipsey and Derzon identify predictor variables of juveniles aged 6 to 11 to serious violence at ages 15 to 25. Hawkins, Herrenkohl, Farrington, Brewer, Catalano, and Harachi propose in their chapter that violent behavior is a result of many factors-some of which include family and individual interactions-and is contextual in nature. These authors conclude that more research needs to be done to determine predictors for youth violence. Gang membership is one of the strongest correlates of serious delinquency that researchers have uncovered. Thornberry's longitudinal studies have found that gang members represent a minority of the overall youth population but are responsible for the vast majority of delinquent acts. This is an important finding, since it highlights the importance of focusing on youth gangs for prevention activities. …

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