NCJ Number
188499
Date Published
June 2001
Length
2 pages
Annotation
After discussing the components and goals of Teens, Crime, and
the Community (TCC) initiative, this paper outlines TCC
publications and action projects, along with training and
technical assistance services.
Abstract
The goal of TCC is to teach youth how to prevent crime and, in
doing so, help them develop a greater sense of social
responsibility, thereby reducing risk factors associated with
delinquency. TCC achieves its goals in four ways. First, it
educates youth about the costs and consequences of crime and ways
to reduce the risk of becoming crime victims. Second, it teaches
teens life skills through hands-on classroom activities and
community involvement. Third, it engages youth in youth-led
service projects to improve community safety. Fourth, it enhances
teens' sense of social responsibility. TCC brings its program
into the community by using resource persons, including police
officers, sheriff's deputies, victim advocates, social service
providers, judges, and prosecutors. TCC locations vary; 73
percent are based in schools, 14 percent in juvenile justice
settings, and 13 percent in communities. The key materials used
by TCC are a textbook, a community binder, and
conflict-resolution manuals that are adaptable to a wide range of
settings. The TCC network consists of 16 expansion centers that
include metropolitan areas, entire States, or groups of States.
The national partners, the National Crime Prevention Council and
Street Law, Inc., provide training to the expansion centers.
These centers offer information, training, and technical
assistance to TCC programs within their assigned areas. More than
a dozen third-party evaluations, many using both control groups
and TCC participants, have found that TCC has achieved
significant success in meeting its goals.
Date Published: June 1, 2001