Report Finds Juvenile Program Failed to Reduce Robberies, but Police Are Expanding It

Misinformation and misunderstanding about the law can lead youth to have accelerating confrontations with the police. Cleveland’s Patrick Henry School offers Juvenile Justice Jeopardy, a game that orients middle school kids to the facts about criminal justice. The game enables youth to internalize the information through an enjoyable format.

Members of a community group in North Hartford, CT, are a positive presence on the streets of the dangerous neighborhood they once grew up in. Men Standing Up Against Violence aim to deter violence, provide support, mediate conflicts, and mentor the youth. The presence of the group was initially unwelcomed by local police officers, but they have proven to be an effective and vital addition to the neighborhood, winning over both the community and the local police department. The group's success is attributed to the trust they've built with locals who often have a deep mistrust and fear of the police.

"De-radicalization" interventions are turning into a business, with former members of extremist hate groups charging fees to deprogram current extremists, using methods based on questionable science. One former member of the neo-Nazi group White Aryan Resistance says his Chicago-based nonprofit, Life After Hate, represents an evidence-based attempt to professionalize the field by adopting an addiction-recovery model. The group claims to have helped 350 people exit violent extremist groups. Skeptics warn against shifting public money to these groups away from law enforcement.

In New York, hate crimes against Muslims have reached levels not seen since 2001. In response to deep racial divides nationally, the importance of having effective interfaith leaders is more relevant than ever.

In the wake of high-profile shootings, proposals such as banning assault weapons gain momentum. But there are solutions few national politicians are looking at that take a very different tack.

Juvenile offenders can feel as though they have no chances for a good future. Volunteers of America’s Face Forward 2 program helps young people in Cleveland to complete their education and to find employment. With this program, juvenile offenders believe they can succeed.

Healing trauma has never been an easy process but programs like Healing Hurt People help to promote recovery in traumatized, angry young men. This program, in partnership with local medical services, aims to provide therapy in place of violence, which would only cause more trauma down the road. Those who stick with the program have found great success in overcoming their pasts.

Chicago suffers from violence and tension between police officers and low-income predominantly Black communities. In 2011, the chief of police consulted with a network of university academics and began implementing “procedural justice,” which was an approach that trained police departments to surmount the lack of confidence that residents felt towards officers. The academics and police chief found that by directing social workers to the homes of at-risk community members, and regarding them with respect, there was a reduction in violence—but now the program has stalled.

In California, once a national innovator in draconian policies to get tough on crime, voters and lawmakers are now innovating in the opposite direction, adopting laws that have released tens of thousands of inmates and are preventing even more from going to prison in the first place.

Crimes against LGBT citizens have gone underreported in many U.S. cities. Washington DC’s Gay and Lesbian Liason Unit has employed and trained LGBT officers to represent community members that they protect and serve. After the establishment of the GLLU, the number of reported crimes has increased, demonstrating the comfort and trust that the community has with law enforcement.