Dealing with Troubled Youths 37police support. Studies and analyses of crime and truancy rates in communities
around the country confirm that today's truants commit a significant proportion
of daytime crime (Gavin, 1997). Successful truancy interdiction programs serve
both long-term and short-term objectives, keeping kids in school and preventing
future criminal activity. By keeping youths off the streets, the police can reduce
crime today, and by encouraging youths to say in school, the police can help reduce
dropout rates and prevent more serious criminal activity tomorrow (Gavin, 1997).
Forensic Psychology and Policy Implications
Police interactions with delinquent juveniles can be very challenging. With the rise
of juvenile crime, it is inevitable that police are going to have a relationship with
these juveniles, which often becomes quite critical in nature. The encounters they
have with one another can have a profound effect on the juvenile's future. Police
are often challenged by the role they play within the juvenile justice system. They
vacillate between the need to help steer the youths away from a life of crime versus
traditional police duties entailing crime prevention and maintaining order. When
addressing issues of truancy and delinquency as well as the relationship that exists
between the two, many police departments have focused on rehabilitative efforts to
curtail the problem. In collaboration with other agencies, many of these programs
have been effective.
When looking at juvenile delinquency from a psychological perspective, the
notion of predelinquent intervention has been explored. The idea is to identify
and treat youths who are inclined to have interaction with the law. Experts in the
fields of psychology, sociology, and criminology who support this approach feel that
youth crime is an individual problem requiring an individually oriented solution
(R. Lundnian, 1993).
This approach to delinquency focuses on personality problems that these youths
have. Various biological, psychological, and social conditions can work together to
influence the thought and behavior patterns of these individuals. According to this
perspective, one's personality may predispose these juveniles to engage in delinquent
activities. When looking at the example of Jill and the delinquent activities she
participated in, early intervention efforts through her school should have addressed
her truant behavior once it started. Treatment efforts to work with her on an
individual basis, or on a family system level, should have also been attempted to
identify the underlying problems.
To support predelinquent intervention, it is essential to be able to identify youths
who are inclined toward a life of delinquency and then to intervene. This can be
accomplished by intervening early in the youth's development. Prevention efforts
should focus on the environment of the child and the relationship they have with
their parents. Studies indicate that the child's home life is a key factor in delinquent
behavior (Siege! & Senna, 1994). Without proper discipline and a nurturing and