Saving Children from a Life of Crime: Early Risk Factors and Effective Interventions

by David P. Farrington, Brandon C. Welsh

Overview

After decades of rigorous study in the United States and across the Western world, a great deal is known about the early risk factors for offending. High impulsiveness, low attainment, criminal parents, parental conflict, and growing up in a deprived, high-crime neighborhood are among the most important factors. There is also a growing body of high quality scientific evidence on the effectiveness of early prevention programs designed to prevent children from embarking on a life of crime. Drawing on the latest evidence, Saving Children from a Life of Crime is the first book to assess the early causes of offending and what works best to prevent it. Preschool intellectual enrichment, child skills training, parent management training, and home visiting programs are among the most effective early prevention programs. Criminologists David Farrington and Brandon Welsh also outline a policy strategy--early prevention--that uses this current research knowledge and brings into sharper focus what America's national crime fighting priority ought to be. At a time when unacceptable crime levels in America, rising criminal justice costs, and a punitive crime policy have spurred a growing interest in the early prevention of delinquency, Farrington and Welsh here lay the groundwork for change with a comprehensive national prevention strategy to save children from a life of crime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190207748
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/08/2008
Series:	Studies in Crime and Public Policy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

David P. Farrington is Professor of Psychological Criminology in the Institute of Criminology, Cambridge University. Brandon C. Welsh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Table of Contents

Foreword James Q. Wilson v

1 Introduction: The Need for Early Prevention 3

Part I Early Risk and Protective Factors

2 Understanding Risk and Protective Factors 17

3 Individual Factors 37

4 Family Factors 55

5 Socioeconomic, Peer, School, and Community Factors 77

Part II Prevention in the Early Years

6 Understanding Risk-Focused Prevention 93

7 Individual Prevention 105

8 Family Prevention 121

9 Peer, School, and Community Prevention 137

Part III Toward a National Strategy

10 Never Too Early: A Comprehensive National Prevention Strategy 159

Notes 175

References 181

Index 223

Editorial Reviews

"Internationally recognized author Farrington (Cambridge) and US criminologist Welsh (Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell) have applied a psychological theoretical perspective and "gold standard" experimental methodology to delinquency programs....Recommended."—CHOICE

"[T]hese two prominent criminologists have written a book on one of social science's most important matters, and one that embodies the essence of good science: the development and articulation of good ideas, a solid discussion of theory and research, and appropriate policy proscriptions that are accessible and relevant to academics, policy-makers, and lay persons."—Journal of Youth & Adolescence

"Overall, Saving Children from a Life of Crime is an insightful and useful text. This book's main strength is that it is a 'one-stop shop' for everything we need to know about risk factors for delinquency and effective early prevention programmes. It is very well researched and the information is both up-to-date and trustworthy."—British Journal of Criminology

"The current willingness to allow at-risk children to develop unimpeded into serious, chronic offenders represents an inexcusable policy failure and threat to public safety. Farrington and Welsh balance this "bad news" with invaluable "good news": there is a growing body of evidence-based practices that "work" to save troubled youngsters. Their scholarly but accessible analysis makes a compelling case that the knowledge now exists to construct a national system for early intervention. Perhaps more important, Saving Children from a Life of Crime has the power to inspire in its readers the political will to make this ambitious vision a reality. Let the reading begin!"—Francis T. Cullen, Distinguished Research Professor, University of Cincinnati

"Well researched and well reasoned, pragmatic and clearly written: A call to action grounded in science. This book should guide the creation of a national strategy for preventing crime before it starts."—J. David Hawkins, Endowed Professor of Prevention, School of Social Work, University of Washington

"This volume has essential, well-summarized information for decision makers, policy officials, and practitioners interested in designing and evaluating programs to reduce juvenile delinquency. Based on a sweeping survey of the scientific evidence for risk and protective factors, the expert authors succinctly indicate which programs have the highest efficacy in preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency and which programs more than pay for themselves. This volume is the most convincing and the most practical of all the books on reducing juvenile delinquency published over the past decades."—Rolf Loeber, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, and Professor of Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh

"Farrington and Welsh have produced a timely and important work for all self-respecting democracies. Every careful student of human development since Plato understands that preventing crime as a way of life starts at conception. Farrington and Welsh offer the up-to-date knowledge needed to change outdated policies. We cannot afford to continue to lock up offenders as if we were still in the early 19th century. Giving support to at-risk families and children is the only rational and humane way of dealing with crime as a way of life. This book should be mandatory for all social science students and policy makers."—Richard E. Tremblay, Chair of Child Development, University of Montreal

"This timely and important work has brought together research on the factors that influence criminal behavior and on the interventions that serve to prevent crime. Farrington and Welsh work to disentangle past and current research on risk factors for delinquency and criminal offending, leading to their outline of a national prevention strategy.... [This book] has tremendous implications for this field."—Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

"Farrington and Welsh have put together a well though out and thorough work that has the potential to help shape both [crime prevention and intervention efforts]... Readers will easily be able to find areas where they can effect change whether in policy or practice based on the evidence contained within this work... aving Children From a Life of Crime should become required reading for all those interested in advancing society at large through improving the lives of children and the families and community contexts within which we all live."—International Review of Modern Sociology

From the Publisher