Winning The Debate On Youth And Crime

1
Winning The Debate On Youth And Crime
Key findings from survey among 1,000 voters
nationwideConducted August 14 18, 2008for
2
How Serious Is The Crime Problem In Your Area?
58
42
Very serious problem 24
Not that serious 14
Very/fairly serious problem
Just somewhat/not that serious problem
3
Best Approach Attack Social And Economic Causes
To lower the crime rate in the U.S, additional
money and effort should go to
Attack social/economic problems that lead to
crime, through better education job training
Deter crime by improving law enforcement, with
more prisons, police, and judges
Not sure
4
Response To Key Crime Approaches
More emphasis minus lessemphasis 81 70 68 57
49 38 37
Prevention Deterrence Enforcement Punishment Rehab
ilitation Incarceration Imprisonment
5
Voters Want Focus On Prevention And Rehabilitation
Better Approach for Dealing with Crime
Prevention/rehabilitation 716444 5663 69
605753 496269
Punishment/incarceration 293656 4437 31
404347 513831
DemocratsIndependentsRepublicans MenWomen Age
18 to 34Age 35 to 49Age 50 to 64Age
65/over High school/lessSome collegeCollege
graduates
Focus on prevention rehabilitation
Focus on punishment incarceration
6
View Of Parties On Crime
Which party would do better reducing crime?
On dealing with crime, where does each party put
emphasis?
Democratic Party
Not sure
Demo-craticParty
Repub-licanParty
Republican Party
7
Better Approach for Dealing with Offenders
With which do you agree more?
Longersentences/fewer paroles 313961 3338
62 514337
We need to make sure offenders receive more
education and job training so that they can find
work when they are released
Education/job training 696139 676238 49
5763
DemocratsIndependentsRepublicans LiberalsModera
tesConservatives High school/lessSome
collegeCollege grads
32 much more
We need longer sentences and fewer early paroles
to keep criminals in prison where they can't
commit more crimes
23 much more
8
Strong Support For Reentry And Rehabilitation
Programs
saying each is a very/fairly effective way to
reduce crime
Require prisoners to take job training Give
ex-prisoners help finding jobs More mandatory
sentences/fewer paroles Make drug/alcohol
counseling available to prisoners Let prisoners
completehigh school education Make
spiritual/religiouscounseling availableto
prisoners
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Persuasiveness Of Progressive Crime Messages
who strongly agree with each
We should require prisoners to work, take
courses, and learn skills, so they are more
likely to find jobs and less likely to commit
crimes when they get out of prison. Let's invest
in good schools, after-school programs, and other
programs that help prevent crime before it
occurs. Prisons have become warehouses that train
prisoners to become better criminals instead of
helping them turn their lives around. We have a
criminal justice system that costs too much and
doesn't work. We need to stop wasting taxpayer
dollars on a failed system. Nonviolent drug
offenders should be in treatment, not in
prison. We can't incarcerate our way out of the
crime problem. The country puts too much emphasis
on punishment and prisons and not enough on
preventing crime. We have a one-size-fits-all
criminal justice system that puts people in jail
who don't need to be there. We should give
prisoners a second chance and provide them with
the tools to turn their lives around and become
law-abiding citizens.
77 68 59 56 52 52 43 42 36
Ratings of 6 7 on seven-point scale,
7completely agree
10
Youth Justice Issues
11
Juvenile Justice SystemSeen As Lenient
Juvenile justice system is too tough
Juvenile justice system is too lenient
Juvenile justice system is about right
12
Public Divided On Best Approach For Young
Offenders
With which do you agree more?
Young offenders should be placed in youth
rehabilitation programs, not incarcerated with
adult criminals
52
27 much more
Youths under the age of 18 who commit a serious
crime should be prosecuted and punished as adults
48
20 much more
13
Progressive Candidate Message Proves Stronger
Which candidate do you prefer, based on
description?
Candidate who says it is time for a balanced,
smart approach on crime that is focused on
prevention. We must require prisoners to work and
get a basic education so they can find jobs when
they return to the community. Young offenders
need consequences for their actions--they should
receive drug treatment and be placed in youth
rehabilitation prog-rams, not in adult jails and
prisons where they learn to become career
criminals. And let's invest in good schools and
after-school programs to prevent crime before it
occurs.
57
30 strongly prefer
Candidate who says the best way to fight crime is
to make sure that criminals face punishment that
is swift and certain. Young offenders who commit
adult crimes should be tried as adults--they need
to know that if you break the law, you go to
prison. We need to eliminate early parole, set
mandatory sentences that keep criminals off our
streets, and make sure that prison means hard
labor. By getting tough on crime we can protect
law-abiding Americans.
43
18 strongly prefer
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Support For Progressive Crime Candidate
Which candidate do you prefer, based on
description?
Young who commit adult crimes tried as adults
Young who commit adult crimes tried as adults
Rehabprograms for youngoffenders
Rehabprograms for youngoffenders
All voters Obama votersMcCain votersSwing
voters DemocratsIndependentsRepublicans Liberals
ModeratesConservatives MenWomen
NortheastSouthMidwestWest CitySuburbSmall
town/rural WhitesAfrican AmericansHispanics High
school/lessSome collegeCollege graduates
57 763662 745934 755937 5558
43 246438 264166 254163 4542
57535861 635651 517977 445769

43474239 374449 492123 564331

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Who Can Be Rehabilitated
How many of these people can be rehabilitated so
they dont commit crimes after they are released?
80
Juvenile offenders Youth offenders Adults
convicted of nonviolent crimes Adults convicted
of violent crimes
20
80
20
79
21
34
66
16
Nature Of Offense Is Big Factor For Voters
Young offenders who have committed nonviolent
crimes
Young offenders who have committed violent crimes
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What Type Of Incarceration For Young Offenders?
Young offenders who need to be incarcerated
Small residential facility Large juvenile facility
Young offenders who have committed nonviolent
crimes
Live at home, counsel-ing under close
super-vision of case worker Incarcerated
injuvenile facility
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Strong Support For Juvenile Justice Reforms
Help them get high school education Require that
they get vocational/job training Require that
they get high school education Provide
vocational training/job skills Provide mental
health treatment/counseling Safe/humane
conditions of confinement Provide counseling to
families of offenders
97
97
96
95
95
92
89
19
Strong Support For Juvenile Justice Reforms
Improve confinement conditions in correctional
institutions If youth need to be detained, place
in facilities close to home End holding youth
in adult jails before convicted of crime Ensure
runaways/curfew violators not detained in
juvenile facilities End incarceration of youth
in adult jails Place all youth over age 16 in
adult facilities
82
75
71
65
57
38
20
Alarmist Message On Youth Crime No Increased
Support For Youth Programs
Message
No Message
Over the next five years, the number of
teenagers and young adults in Amer-ica will
increase by one million. The surging youth
population will lead to two million new crimes if
they behave as past teenagers have.
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Impact Of Heightened Concern About Crime

• Youth rehabilitation
• Prosecute as adults

• Prevention/rehabilitation
• Punishment/incarceration

• Progressive crime candidate
• Conservative crime candidate

(Voters Identified by View of Seriousness of
Crime in their Area)
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Effective Messages For Juvenile Detention And
Alternatives
rating each as a very convincing message (6-7
on seven-point scale)
Youth placed in adult jails are at great risk of
physical assault. According to government
statistics, 21 of the victims of
inmate-on-inmate sexual violence in jails were
youth under the age of 18, even though only 1 of
all jail inmates are juveniles. If any parent
were to punish their children like the criminal
justice system does, by locking them up, they
would be accused of child abuse. We now have
children as young as 14 and 15, in their
formative years, who are being housed with
hardened criminals. Thats going too far. Youth
in adult facilities are at a higher risk of
violence and suicide than those in the juvenile
justice system. Each child prevented from
engaging in repeat criminal offenses can save the
community between 2.6 million and 4.4 million
dollars. Reports of widespread abuse of juvenile
inmates demonstrate the impor-tance of updating
the law to ensure the safety of youth in
custody. Adult prisons do not offer
age-appropriate services for youth, limiting
their educational opportunities and preventing
them from receiving rehabilitation services that
may keep them from re-offending.
61 57 51 51 50 50 49
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Less Effective Messages For Juvenile Detention
And Alternatives
rating each as a very convincing message (6-7
on seven-point scale)
Research demonstrates that minority youth are
treated more harshly than white youth, even when
charged with the same category of offense.(26
Whites, 76 African Americans, 49
Hispanics) Youths brains are not fully developed
until the age of 25. The part of the brain that
controls impulse, reasoning, and advanced thought
and impulse control is the last to develop. A
juveniles culpability or blameworthiness is
diminished to a substantial degree by reason of
youth and immaturity. Most of the youth
prosecuted in adult courts are charged with
nonviolent offenses.
34 24 19 18
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Confidence In MessengersOn Juvenile Justice
Issues
Teachers Former youth offenders Police
officers Judges Mental health professionals Crime
victims Religious leaders Parents Prison wardens
25 great deal of confidence 32 27 21 21 24 2
2 19 14
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Winning The Debate On Youth And Crime
Key findings from survey among 1,000 voters
nationwideConducted August 14 18, 2008for