Saving Children from a Life of Crime: Early Risk Factors and Effective Interventions

by David P. Farrington, Brandon C. Welsh

After decades of rigorous study in the United States and across the Western world, a great deal is known about the early risk factors for offending. High impulsiveness, low attainment, criminal parents, parental conflict, and growing up in a deprived, high-crime neighborhood are among the most important factors. There is also a growing body of high quality scientific evidence on the effectiveness of early prevention programs designed to prevent children from embarking on a life of crime.

Drawing on the latest evidence, Saving Children from a Life of Crime is the first book to assess the early causes of offending and what works best to prevent it. Preschool intellectual enrichment, child skills training, parent management training, and home visiting programs are among the most effective early prevention programs. Criminologists David Farrington and Brandon Welsh also outline a policy strategy--early prevention--that uses this current research knowledge and brings into sharper focus what America's national crime fighting priority ought to be.

At a time when unacceptable crime levels in America, rising criminal justice costs, and a punitive crime policy have spurred a growing interest in the early prevention of delinquency, Farrington and Welsh here lay the groundwork for change with a comprehensive national prevention strategy to save children from a life of crime.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2006

About the author

David Philip Farrington was a British criminologist, forensic psychologist, and emeritus professor of psychological criminology at the University of Cambridge, where he was also a Leverhulme Trust Emeritus Fellow. In 2014, Paul Hawkins and Bitna Kim wrote that Farrington "is considered one of the leading psychologists and main contributors to the field of criminology in recent years."

Reviews

[Joseph]

4,5/5

Discusses many interesting points that one might not have thought of before reading this book or attending lectures on the subject. A book based on summaries of earlier studies, which are presented in a way that’s comprehensive.

[Will Baxley]

Comprehensive review of studies that have attempted to measure the efficacy of violent crime prevention programs at the individual, family, and school/community levels.

[Allison]

A long and very detailed account of research on children and crime, including information on effective and ineffective interventions. It is a complex issue but a child's impulsive personality, parental neglect, inexperienced parenting, lack of a supportive school environment and criminal peers all contribute. Many family and community prevention programs can make a huge difference in changing the outcome. A fascinating and worthwhile read.