The role of a youth worker in crime prevention policies : a proposal

Abstract

This study is intended to forward an elaborate crime prevention paradigm drawing on an analysis of the literature existent in the field and synthesising the work of the most prominent contributors in the area. Tracing and developing methods of intervention for the youth worker in each level of the proposed crime prevention paradigm. It also attempts to establish a role for the youth worker in the crime prevention area. However, one must account for various limitations in this proposal. The role of the Youth Worker is not yet officially recognized as a profession. Since the role of the youth worker in the criminal justice system has not yet been developed, one could not have attempted to forward an empirically based study on the success rates of youth work intervention in the crime prevention field. This would have been essential for a proposal that assumes scientifically valid hypothesis testing. What ‘The role of the youth worker in a crime prevention policy’ hopes to achieve is to indicate areas in crime prevention strategies which require youth intervention and to serve as a basic framework for crime prevention.