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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 1:09 am
Time: 1:09 am
Results for delinquency prevention programs - gangs
1 results foundAuthor: Blomberg, Thomas Title: An Evaluation of the Youth Violence Prevention Program in Palm Beach County Summary: Since the early 1990s, Palm Beach County has employed research in its efforts to successfully confront crime and improve its criminal justice system. Through the efforts of its Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), Palm Beach County has implemented such research-based initiatives as Weed and Seed, and drug courts. What is particularly noteworthy about Palm Beach County’s research-driven orientation to confront crime and improve its criminal justice system has been its concerted effort to not only implement research validated initiatives but to evaluate these initiatives in order to conclusively determine their actual effectiveness. This commitment to research and validated crime and criminal justice initiatives has been exemplified once again as Palm Beach County has mobilized against the problem of youth violence. Beginning in 2004, a series of media stories detailed frequent violent and often fatal crimes with firearms in the county. The perception was that the County was in the midst of a violent crime epidemic. In response, the Criminal Justice Commission initiated a study to determine if the perception of a crime epidemic was, in fact, correct. The study assessed the County’s historical trends in the levels of violent crime, gun-related crime, and murder. The study found that while the County’s overall crime rate had declined from 1990-2005, violent crime including those involving firearms, had increased with the murder rate having experienced particularly substantial increases from 2000 to 2005. Of additional importance was the study’s finding that violent criminal offenders in Palm Beach County were most often adolescents or young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. These findings led the Criminal Justice Commission to assess what other communities across the country were doing to combat youth violence. After reviewing the federally sponsored youth violence reduction efforts of Boston, Massachusetts; Oakland, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Richmond, Virginia; Birmingham, Alabama; Buffalo, New York; Riverside, California; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; and Seattle, Washington, it became evident that there were promising youth violence reduction program strategies that might be useful in Palm Beach County. Specifically, the most promising programs would need to be comprehensive and include law enforcement, prevention, intervention, and offender reintegration services. Moreover, it was clear that to maximize the program’s potential for youth violence reduction success, it would be essential to involve the community in the planning and implementation stages of these programs. Ultimately, it was decided that while Palm Beach County’s youth violence problem mirrored those of other communities, it was critical that a tailored community-wide program be implemented that explicitly addressed the specifics of Palm Beach County’s high violent crime communities. In recognition of the findings and conclusions of the study of violent crime in Palm Beach County, it was concluded that the county would implement a comprehensive approach that employed key elements of the national model established by the U.S. Department of Justice for Youth Violence Prevention. The county invited cities to participate and agree to the following conditions: • Abide by the requirement that all city-related projects and efforts will service the residents within the identified geographic areas as outlined by Criminal Justice maps • The city will make a commitment of building space for services within the identified geographical areas • Design a phase-in plan, including timeline, for the creation of a Youth Empowerment Center • Design a phase-in plan, including timeline, for a Justice Service Center • Participate in the multi-agency task force law enforcement component of the Youth Violence Prevention Project • Utilize the findings of the Project’s 500 youth surveys to develop and prioritize youth empowerment programs • Pay the city’s portion of all goods, services, and personnel used in connection with this project • Develop separate community advisory boards for youth and young adults • Participate in all aspects of evaluation including data collection, data sharing, site monitoring, and visits The county’s comprehensive approach for confronting youth violence involved an integration of the national model for Youth Violence Prevention with the findings and conclusions of the research study of violent crime in Palm Beach County. Further, county professionals from the criminal justice system, education, human services, and local youth contributed to the planning for the County’s comprehensive approach to youth violence reduction. Four subcommittees were formed, namely, crime prevention, law enforcement, courts, and corrections, and charged with developing a strategic plan. Additionally, a youth workgroup of 25 youth from around the county was established and began its efforts with a survey of over 500 youth throughout the county. The recommendations from the youth workgroup and the four subcommittees were examined and used to support the county’s implementation of a multi-agency comprehensive program model. Ultimately, Palm Beach County’s Youth Violence Prevention Program Model included four components, namely, (1) Crime Prevention; (2) Law Enforcement; (3) Courts; and (4) Corrections, and involved a joint county/city effort. Based on the findings from the study of violent crime in the county, five program sites or violent crime “hot spots” were identified and these cities agreed to implement the Youth Violence Prevention Project. Moreover, in order to conclusively determine the effectiveness of the program in the five program sites, five matching control sites (did not implement the YVPP) were identified by the FSU Evaluation Team. The method used to select appropriate matching control sites included the use of U.S. Census data and Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data. On the basis of implementation, results, and outcomes reported in this Report, Palm Beach County’s first year experiences in implementing the violent crime reduction program model appear successful. The County has demonstrated an ability to mobilize different agencies, services, youth, and other citizens in a common collaborative mission to reduce violent crime. The County’s violence reduction efforts have been facilitated by its now several decade old collaborative history that has involved multiple agencies and citizen involvement in confronting crime. Beginning with Weed and Seed in the early 1990s and continuing with drug courts and the current violence reduction programs, the County has established infrastructures that include productive relationships between the Criminal Justice Commission, Board of Supervisors, Sheriff’s Office, various police departments, State Attorney’s Office, Courts, Corrections, County businesses, various County citizens groups, and others. This collaborative history and set of established multiple relationships has directly and positively impacted the County’s current violent crime reduction efforts. Details: Tallahassee: Center for Criminology and Public Policy, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 2008. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 19, 2012 at: http://www.criminologycenter.fsu.edu/p/pdf/Palm%20Beach%20County%20YVPP%20Year%201%20Report.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.criminologycenter.fsu.edu/p/pdf/Palm%20Beach%20County%20YVPP%20Year%201%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 125674 Keywords: Crime Prevention (Florida)Delinquency Prevention Programs - GangsGun ViolenceJuvenile OffendersViolent CrimeYouth Violence |