Public Support for Early Intervention Programs: Implications for a Progressive Policy Agenda

Since the early 1970s, criminologists have embraced the view that only broader social justice will reduce crime—a stance that has largely surrendered criminal justice policy to conservatives. Emerging research shows, however, that early intervention programs prevent crime and are cost effective. Bas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crime and delinquency 1998-04, Vol.44 (2), p.187-204
Main Authors: Cullen, Francis T., Wright, John Paul, Brown, Shayna, Moon, Melissa M., Blankenship, Michael B., Applegate, Brandon K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Care and treatment
Cost Containment
Crime
Crime Prevention
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice Policy
Criminals
Early intervention programmes
Government policy
Imprisonment
Intervention
Policy making
Political aspects
Polls & surveys
Popular support
Problem children
Progressivism (United States politics)
Public Opinion
Public Support
Social aspects
Social justice
Tennessee
U.S.A
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Summary:Since the early 1970s, criminologists have embraced the view that only broader social justice will reduce crime—a stance that has largely surrendered criminal justice policy to conservatives. Emerging research shows, however, that early intervention programs prevent crime and are cost effective. Based on a 1997 survey of Tennessee respondents, the article reports further that the public supports early intervention strongly and prefers it to incarceration as a strategy to reduce offending. Thus, the article contends that early intervention programs, which extend services to at-risk children and families, comprise an important progressive policy initiative that criminologists and policy makers should support.
ISSN:0011-1287
1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/0011128798044002001