Fighting crime has been geared in the area of its prevention along with addressing current cases (Morizot & Kazeiman, 2013). The approach in point can be deemed as rather reasonable as it isolates the factors that cause the problem of crime; with the addition of developmental theories, the strategy in question can be interpreted as the most efficient tool in reducing crime rates to date. The use of developmental theories in the design of crime prevention programs can be viewed as a significant breakthrough and an essential step forward as it permits the design of a set of correct behavioral patterns that are promoted to the target audience at the earliest stages of their development.
The main reason for using developmental programs as the tools for recidivism reduction is related primarily to the fact that the specified programs define the attitude of the target audience to crime as an inappropriate mode of behavior: “these programs tend to concentrate on three areas parent training, improving the cognitive development of children, and reversing early manifestations of conduct problems” (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2013, p. 457–458).
It is also essential that the innovative programs under analysis allow focusing on the significance of parenting and the need to train the children’s parents so that they could encourage positive behavior in the target population from an early stage of their development. The incorporation of family values can be deemed as an essential element of the programs under analysis since it reinforces the significance of family values and offers children family members’ support. The latter, in its turn, is likely to have a positive effect on the evolution of the young people’s values and ethic, therefore, preventing them from engaging in criminal activities (Morizot & Kazeiman, 2013).
It could be argued, however, that the analyzed approach has a few dents in its design, which is partially true. For instance, the incorporation of the developmental approaches mentioned above implies that the process of shaping the target audience’s attitude is going to be not only very timely but also barely possible to carry out with older audiences, i.e., adult offenders. Seeing that the latter already have an established mode of behavior and are likely to be unwilling to change it even once the component such as family support is introduced into the intervention, the developmental theories are expected to work only as the means of shaping young people’s attitude and will not be suitable for rehabilitation programs. In other words, the developmental theories must be the best way of explaining criminality as an issue stemming from improper behavioral patterns and ethical values.
Nevertheless, the use of the developmental approaches as the basis for crime prevention programs can be viewed as a major breakthrough in the overall process of addressing delinquencies. By shaping people’s concept of social and criminal justice from a comparatively young age, one is likely to promote an intuitive understanding of the subject matter and, therefore, an intrinsic tendency to abstain from breaking the law (Lilly et al., 2013).
Seeing that developmental theories help create a behavioral pattern that defines the development of the values that prevent criminal behavior in the target audience, they can be viewed as one of the most efficient, if only somewhat time-consuming, tools for addressing an increase in crime rates properly. Hence, it is highly desirable that the use of developmental theories in designing crime prevention programs should be encouraged.
Reference List
Lilly, R., Cullen, F., & Ball, R. A. (2013). Criminological theory: Context and consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Morizot, J., & Kazeiman, L. (2013). The development of criminal and antisocial behavior: Theory, research and practical applications. New York City, NY: Springer.