Methods

In order to minimise the degree and severity of crime throughout Starley Cross in the upcoming future it is essential to recognise the extent and nature of the respective issues and ensure they are confronted appropriately. The most efficient method of implementing risk-focused prevention procedures is to directly counteract them whilst enhancing protective factors and utilising deterrence methods.

Youth Clubs

One of the potential suggestions would be the initiation of a youth club. The former working men’s’ club would be an ideal venue for the respective proposal of a youth club, as it presently serves as a crime ridden environment and an ecosystem for drug dealers alongside other law violating activities. The youth club would be running every day after school and on Saturdays, whilst its influx would be accompanied by many benefits. Foremost, it would provide ideal grounds for the members to meet and acquaint with new people, subsequently enhancing their social skills. Not only will this teach the children socially desirable behaviour but will also increase the opportunity for diverse cultural socialisation and harmony between Starley Cross residents in the future. Moreover, unsubstantial supervision by parents, lack of interest in their child’s routine and activities as well as a deficiency in applause for desirable behaviour are common and principle risk factors leading to offending. The youth club will not only integrate the youth of Starley Cross but will also serve as a means of uniting parents with their children and improving parental relationships throughout the community. Additionally, it will aid single parents, consequently reducing prominence of domestic conflict and providing such parents with more time to work and reduce unemployment. The introduction of the youth club is going to be a cost effective and autonomous solution, as it will also ascend job opportunities for individuals willing to run the activities and supervise children of all ages.         

Sports Clubs

Another proposal based around a corresponding concept to the previous one, is the initiation of various sports and recreational clubs within the Starley Cross Junior School. As mentioned before, this would be ideal in providing the students with an opportunity to engage is team-work based activities and develop their discipline. According to Eime et al. (2013), children that participate in sports and physical activities are less likely to exemplify behavioural problems and offend in adulthood due to the psychological benefits they are exposed to. Furthermore, just like with the introduction of the youth club, extracurricular sport and recreational activities will be beneficial for lone parents and provide them with additional time to search for employment and decrease their stress. 

School Interventions

As outline previously, schools host various risk factors for potential offending in the future as they are the predominant location for shaping childrens’ characters. One of the risk factors present in a school environment is a high rate of delinquency, often portraying disorder between the students and teachers, students exemplifying a miniscule degree of commitment and consequently reduced attainment and performance, and a low IQ diminishes the understating of abstract concepts such as empathy towards others(Mears and Cochran 2013). In order to prevent the listed risk factors, it is essential to implement certain interventions into the Starley Cross Junior School. Primarily, in order to improve attainment, it will prove indispensable to introduce antibullying programmes within the school. These will consist of occupying the students, teachers and parents with substantial knowledge of the consequences of tormented children, how to recognise bullying and how to act if it does occur. Supplementary attention will be given to those children who are renowned to be susceptible target for school bullies to ensure the success of the programme.

The reduction of bullying will also have a positive and direct effect on offending in the future (Rigby 2003). The appointment of appropriate staff is another key factor to eradicating risk factors in schools, as according to Skinner and Belmont (1993), healthy and positive relationship between staff and students produces significantly better results and performance, and furthermore, will encourage children to attend school more often and intensify their commitment levels. Another intervention that will be implemented into the curricular system will be the enhancement of the general attention on socially and academically desirable behaviour exemplified by students, with increased praise and reward in response to such behaviour in order to positively reinforce it and increase its probability in adulthood (Patterson et al. 2017).       

Family Interventions 

Another prime source of risk factors is the family of a child as this is the central foundation for childhood socialisation, and the parents serve as the principle role models for the individual whilst shaping their future personality (Sameroff et al. 1993). in turn, a negative ambience within a household, or alternatively the occurrence of generational criminality and genetic factors can initiate a child’s criminal career at a young age through familial influence. The extensive size of a family indorses issues such as a lack of supervision and increase in conflict as well as exposure to delinquent siblings, as outlined before. Erratic punishments, deprived communication and lack of parental interest can have equally devastating consequences on the child’s future behaviour. Perhaps the most severe outcomes derive from child neglect and abuse, as sexual abuse during childhood commonly motivates sexual crimes in adulthood, alongside alcoholism (Langeland and Hartgers 1998). It is estimated that 18% of Starley Cross residents have been recorded to be publicly intoxicated and disorderly, implying a strong association between child abuse and alcoholism in Starley Cross. The final family related risk factor is a disruption within the household, an issue irrefutably present in Starley Cross as evidenced by the 14% of single parents. The lack of a biological parent can very commonly produce an increase in offending in the future (Anderson 2002).

Early childhood home visiting programmes will be one means of intervening with the above risk factors in an endeavour to minimise the probability of future offending in Starley Cross. This involves regular home visits from trained professionals such as nurses, parent educators or social workers, whom work with and alongside parents susceptible to generating the respective risk factors in their childrens lives. The role of these specialists involves training and educating parents about their child’s development and care (Britto et al. 2003). The outcomes of this are a significant reduction in child maltreatment and a noteworthy enhancement of social as well as cognitive skills. The other intervention process which will be utilised in Starley Cross to reduce family risk factors is known as parent management training (PMT). The basic concept behind PMT is a series of guidance steps illustrated to parents, assisting them in altering their parental behaviours. The aim of the procedures it to minimise and restrain behaviour problems such as aggression and hyperactivity portrayed by children, consequently encouraging them to demonstrate socially desirable behaviour. Positive reinforcement is the crucial premise behind the success of PMT, as the primary idea is to reinforce good behaviour by rewarding the child whenever they exhibit it. The introduction of PMT in Starley Cross will not only see an improvement in the youth behaviour almost immediately, however its success will also be measured through a gradual and long-term deterrence of crime(Kazdin et al. 1992).