e within five years (Jackson County 1), and counseling criminals works primarily only with children before their criminal lives start (Feinsilber 1A). So the next obvious solution since incarceration and rehabilitation programs have little to no effect is preventing young people from starting committing serious offenses in the first place. Most criminals have the same backgrounds in common. The majority of offenders come from areas of high poverty, have little education, or have had unstable family lives with broken homes or drug use in the family. Boys whose fathers have served time in prison are very likely to end up in prison themselves when older (Howell 37). Over thirty percent of children in the US live in homes with only one parent (Betts 36). These children are at a much higher risk than children with both parents, and often have no male role model. The experts have been able to find the causes of most of the crime in our country, and have been able to pinpoint high risk youngsters. The next step is developing plans to reduce their risks and get them headed toward more positive activities in their lives. So far, the most successful ways of changing troubled youths lives have been through community action programs that give youngsters positive outlets for their emotions, and hobbies or activities for them to focus their time on which keep them away from harmful situations. A study by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has shown that community prevention programs have been proven to reduce risks and enhance protective factors against crime, violence, and substance abuse (Howell 56). Dr. D. A. Andrews has come up with a list of standards to help make these prevention programs successful, and make sure that they deal with the problems in ways that will make changes in juveniles lives. His Nine Principles for Effective Delinquency Prevention and Intervention are as follows: 1. Address the highest priority probl...
