It is hard to imagine the former innocent child as a delinquent who commits various crimes. Indeed, many children become criminals for different reasons; they can be bullied at school, have family issues, and many other aspects that make them juvenile offenders. Still, the crimes of the young bring multiple problems to their families, and many parents strive to help their children. There are specialized community programs that work with juvenile criminals and prevent their future crimes. It is vital to examine one of these programs to grasp how it works and helps young offenders and their parents to overcome the problem.
Juvenile crime is a complex issue that a single universal program cannot resolve. There might be multiple premises to the established behavior of the young offender. For instance, family problems may become a significant reason for the child to begin his juvenile crime life. School and friendship obstacles are another reason leading the child to commit various crimes. Indeed, the result is almost always similar; the young offender starts to behave strangely, does different abuse substances like alcohol and drugs, and misses classes at school or university. However, there are multiple ways of how to prevent the child from doing these activities. For example, there are three types of preventional programs which involve identifying and resolving the existing problems of juveniles in the beginning stage (Cox et al., 2017). These programs involve various social and sports activities, which facilitate communication and the child’s social life.
“Get It Straight” Program
Indeed, if the situation is worse and the prevention is missed, there is another way to help the juvenile offender. For instance, the non-commercial organization in California called Hollenbeck PAL offers a unique community program, “Get It Straight” (LAPD Hollenbeck Police Activities League, 2021). This program involves juvenile offenders and might help to prevent and intervene in the situation of the child. It is a 12-week training program that includes sessions with children and parents. The program is created for juveniles aged from 10 to 17 years. It is also important to note that the program involves parental participation, which is essential in the case of juvenile crime.
The program aims to help young delinquents and their parents find a standard solution in resolving their conflicts and improving their relationships within the family and community. Moreover, it strives to change the life of young offenders and wants to help them cope with social problems (Hollenbeck PAL, 2016). Teachers and psychoanalysis specialists involved in the program guide children in accomplishing their dreams and plans, forgetting about the criminal past. Parents who come to receive help from this program expect resolving family issues and deviant behavior in their children. Children and their parents visit the program and undergo various sessions with police officers, doctors, and specialists in juvenile crime.
Moreover, the program can be considered effective in prevention and intervention in juvenile crimes. The success rate constitutes 73 percent, according to the Hollenbeck PAL (Hollenbeck PAL, 2016). The program involves children and their parents in active work, and former offenders share their thoughts on the agenda. For instance, children report that they used to miss classes and commit various crimes like theft and acts of vandalism. Simultaneously, parents said that they were desperate and did not know what to do with their children’s behavior. However, after undergoing the program, they united with their families and improved relationships with their parents (Hollenbeck PAL, 2016). Moreover, it is essential to say that the program is international; it involves people of different nations and races and equally helps them.
The program’s tools vary from sessions with a psychologist to lectures about drug abuse harm with police workers. This community program aims to prevent and resolve the existing issues in young offenders. For instance, the program for prevention and resolution can vary depending on the case. The work will be more severe and attentive for those children who have already established deviant behavior. Indeed, it is possible to receive consultations with specialists of the program for those who want to prevent criminal manifestation in their children.
However, it was noticed that there is no information about previous researches and repeated cases of juvenile crime among all these advantages of the program. Moreover, the space is limited and bounds the ability to participate in the program (LAPD Hollenbeck Police Activities League, 2021). The possible solutions to these issues might be expanding the information about possibilities of repeated sessions in case of recidivism in children crime. Online sessions might solve the problem of limited space in the program.
Overall, there are many abilities to resolve the issue of crime among juveniles. The program “Get It Straight” offers a specialized training course consisting of 12-weeks sessions with specialists. The program strives to help young offenders and their parents solve conflicts, improve social behavior, and liquidate criminal life effects. This program is possible to apply both in the prevention and intervention of crime cases in children. Moreover, it involves many young people from 10 to 17 years and equally helps families of various nations.
References
Cox, S. M., Allen, J. M., & Hanser, R. D. (2017). Juvenile justice: A guide to theory, policy, and practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Hollenbeck PAL. (2016). Get it straight – LAPD Hollenbeck PAL. [Video]. YouTube.
LAPD Hollenbeck Police Activities League. (2021). Get It Straight (GIS). LAPD Hollenbeck PAL.