The criminal record of the youth is not created just because of just one or two incidents, instead, it has a chain of events that leads them to reach such a situation. This all starts from home when the child experiences a troubled home, they run away from their home at a very young age. Such children get dropped out of school and develop drug or other legal habits.
In some other scenarios, youngsters who are physically or sexually abused in their childhood have more chances of getting involved in crimes. Youngsters who feel discrimination due to race or colour are more prone to such activities. However, a set of activities can help prohibit youngsters from committing crimes, some of them have been mentioned in this article
1. Caring Family or Adult
Family is a unit of support, care, and love for everyone. Through family assistance, an individual/youth develops the required personal traits and relationships with others. When the unit of the family is disturbed and it is unable to provide support, then any other adult outside the family can serve as a figure to help the child feel secure and develop self-esteem. Such connections help the youth develop problem-solving skills.
2. Educational Support
The educational centres including school and family can play a major role in guiding the youth to make the right choices regarding their youth. Before school, parents are the first point from which children learn things. However, education should be meaningful and the youth should have access to all the education and training opportunities.
Besides that, the community can also play a huge role in educating youth. In New York, the model of NYPD youth education new york city ny about engaging police and youth to understand each other has been proven quite fruitful. Other communities can also adopt the same model and help police familiarise themselves with the youngsters.
3. Support for Families
The families of such youngsters are the breeding ground for their involvement in illegal cases including drugs and other crimes. Such families mostly are unable to support their children and provide them with their necessities due to the lack of finances. The parents are unable to earn due to lower literacy and required skills.
Domestic violence, poverty, and addictions add fuel to the fire. So the community needs to support such families. The community can get involved by arranging sessions to educate the parents and provide them with the right skills. Also, drug addicts can support them by sending them to rehab.
4. Positive Peer Support
Peers are the main part of every individual’s life. So when the youth can fit in with their peer groups without any hurdles they feel confident about themselves and experience a sense of belonging and self-worth. These groups help them learn, grow, and develop. Luckily, there are many options through which you can have the youth involved in a certain peer group such as through sports teams, and social clubs etc. Then you can share the success stories with other youngsters to motivate them for their positive behaviours.
