Conclusion

Only recently have there been hopeful signs that the national levels of youth violence and victimization have peaked and are beginning to decline. However, new generations of children in cities and towns across America are at increased risk of becoming SVJ offenders, mainly because policymakers do not have the information, resources, or motivation to change these odds. The findings of the Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders provide the evidence to back their claim that it is never too early to prevent SVJ offending and never too late to intervene to stop SVJ offending. It is now up to each community to use this information -- not only to garner the necessary resources, but also to motivate the community's collective will to change the odds for these children.

Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders	Juvenile Justice Bulletin   ·  May 1998