Peter W. Greenwood – författare

Historically, it has been difficult to measure the impact of policies and programs designed to address juvenile crime. The most commonly used strategies for combating juvenile delinquency have primarily relied on intuition and fads. However, the promising research documented in "Changing Lives" presents methods that can directly remedy these deficiencies in our juvenile justice system. Peter W. Greenwood demonstrates here that as crime rates have fallen, researchers have identified connections between specific risk factors and criminal behavior. At the same time, program developers have discovered a wide array of innovative interventions. The result of all this activity has been the revelation of a few prevention models that reduce crime much more cost-effectively than popular approaches such as tougher sentencing, the D.A.R.E. campaign, boot camps, and "scared straight" programs."Changing Lives" expertly presents the most promising of these prevention programs, their histories, the quality of evidence to support their effectiveness, the public policy programs involved in bringing them into wider use, and the potential for investments and developmental research to increase the range and quality of programs.

One of the most astonishing aspects of juvenile crime is how little is known about the impact of the policies and programs put in place to fight it. The most commonly used strategies and programs for combating juvenile delinquency problems primarily rely on intuition and fads. Fortunately, as a result of the promising new research documented in Changing Lives, these deficiencies in our juvenile justice system might quickly be remedied. Peter W. Greenwood here demonstrates here that as crimes rates have fallen, researchers have identified more connections between specific risk factors and criminal behavior, while program developers have discovered a wide array of innovative interventions. The result of all this activity, he reveals, has been the revelation of a few prevention models that reduce crime much more cost-effectively than popular approaches such as tougher sentencing, D.A.R.E., boot camps, and "scared straight" programs. Changing Lives expertly presents the most promising of these prevention programs, their histories, the quality of evidence to support their effectiveness, the public policy programs involved in bringing them into wider use, and the potential for investments and developmental research to increase the range and quality of programs.

Today juvenile delinquents are viewed and treated much like adult criminals. The goal of rehabilitating and reforming youthful offenders--once the primary function of juvenile courts--has largely been abandoned in the past decade in favor of a punishment-orientation that includes extended periods of incarceration. This study, written by a distinguished group of criminologists, legal experts, and social scientists, attempts to determine the reasons for the decline in interest in rehabilitation, what can be done to revive it, and whether rehabilitation is ultimately a practical approach to the problem of juvenile crime.