Addressing the Roots of Youth Violence

1. Addressing the Roots ofYouth Violence Dr. Scot Wortley Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto Metropolis Priority Leader: Justice, Policing and Security

10. Disturbing Trends • Although official rates of violent crime are low by international standards, Canadian surveys suggest that most young people will experience some form of violent victimization. • Most violent victimization incidents are never reported to parents, police or other adult authority figures. • Recent data suggests that the “reporting rate” for violent victimization has decreased over the past decade (no snitching). • Violent crime is becoming more concentrated among young people (under 30 years of age). • Violent victimization is increasingly concentrated among young, minority males from disadvantaged communities.

11. Disturbing Trends • Violent crime more likely to take place in public spaces. • Violence more likely to involve firearms. • Apparent increase in gang activity. • Increasing economic polarization in major Canadian urban centres. • The most economically disadvantaged communities are highly racialized. • IS CANADA AT ACROSSROADS?

12. The Roots Causes of Youth Violence • Early childhood development • Mental health issues • Poor parenting/parental supervision • Absolute and relative deprivation • Anger/Frustration/Alienation/Hopelessness • Deviant peers (exposure to pro-crime values) • Violent media (exposure to pro-crime values) • Lack of pro-social role models • Labelling • Criminal opportunities • Lack of legitimate opportunites

13. Diverse Pathways to Youth Violence • Early Onset/Lifetime Persistent • Late Onset/Adolescent Limited • Late Onset/Adult Persistent • Do different types of youth require different types of programming?

14. Shopping for Programs • Suppression strategies • Surveillance strategies • Early childhood education programs • Parenting programs • Adult mentoring programs • Youth mentoring Programs • Educational enhancement programs • Youth employment programs • Youth engagement programs – sports, arts, culture and other recreation strategies.

15. Evaluation Research • Low quality evaluation (post-test testimonials). • Medium quality evaluation (pre-test/post-test design). • High Quality Evaluation (pre-test/post test/control group). • The quality of the evaluation also depends on a number of other factors including outcome measures, data collection strategies, sampling decisions, etc.

16. The Canadian Evaluation Record • Many programs are funded by various levels of government and private foundations. • Besides financial audits and “output” reports, very few programs are evaluated at all. • Most of the evaluations that are conducted fit into the “low quality” category. • It is therefore very difficult to determine whether these programs meet their stated objectives or not.

17. Obstacles to Program Evaluation • Resistance from Funders. • Resistance from program administrators and staff. • Competition for limited funds. • Lack of research funds. • Lack of research expertise. • Lack of public support or understanding. • Is Canada “anti-research”?

18. Some Promising Results(from the International Literature) • Intensive, long-term, multi-dimensional programs are more effective than short-term, one-dimensional programs. • Programs that involve the family (parents, siblings, etc.) and the community (including pro-social peers) are more effective than programs that target youth in isolation. • Programs must target the needs of specific youth. One size does not fit all. • The delivery of youth services must be coordinated.

19. Conclusion • In order to develop “best practices,” evaluation needs to become a standard part of program design and implementation. • Programs should be given the opportunity to evolve through evaluation. A “poor” evaluation should not “doom” a program or an organization.