The most rigorous research available shows that the following risk factors are the most powerful causes of offending and are consequently the key targets for programmes aimed at reducing offending. Young people in the Desister group make few Court appearances and have fewer risk factors. They are particularly at risk from substance abuse and antisocial peers, and are considered by some to be the priority for intervention. The following list gives an order of priority for addressing risks with this group4: Mixing with antisocial peers; Substance abuse; Family problems - poor parental monitoring, negative parent-child relationships; Poor performance and attendance at school, negative feelings about school; Others as per the Persisters list below. (3) Who are Persisters? Definition: Both in New Zealand and internationally, around 15-20% of youth offenders are “Persisters”. Also known as “Early Onset” or “life course” offenders, they first offend at an early age and continue to offend into adulthood. “Persisters” are responsible for a large proportion of crime.5 2 Moffit T E (1993) Adolescence‐Limited and Life‐Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental Taxonomy, Psychological Review, 100(4): 674‐701, as cited in McLaren, above n 1, 17. Moffit, above n 3, as cited in McLaren, above n 1, 16. McLaren, above n 1, 36. K L McLaren, Tough is Not Enough - Getting Smart about Youth Crime, available at http://www.myd.govt.nz/Publications/Justice/toughisnotenough‐gettingsmartabout.aspx, (last accessed 21 June 2012), 16. Persistent young offenders are a difficult and worrying group that requires identification and intervention as early as the preschool years. Terrie Moffitt is one researcher who has put forward the “Desister” versus “Persister” theory. She concludes that:6 “a substantial body of longitudinal research consistently points to a very small group of males who display high rates of antisocial behaviour across time and in diverse situations. The professional nomenclature may change, but the faces remain the same as they drift through successive systems aimed at curbing their deviance: schools, program, psychiatric-treatment centres, and prisons.” (1996:15). Characteristics of Persisters:
The most rigorous research available shows that the following risk factors are the most powerful causes of offending and are consequently the key targets for programmes aimed at reducing offending. Young people in the Desister group make few Court appearances and have fewer risk factors. They are particularly at risk from substance abuse and antisocial peers, and are considered by some to be the priority for intervention. The following list gives an order of priority for addressing risks with this group4: Mixing with antisocial peers; Substance abuse; Family problems - poor parental monitoring, negative parent-child relationships; Poor performance and attendance at school, negative feelings about school; Others as per the Persisters list below. (3) Who are Persisters? Definition: Both in New Zealand and internationally, around 15-20% of youth offenders are “Persisters”. Also known as “Early Onset” or “life course” offenders, they first offend at an early age and continue to offend into adulthood. “Persisters” are responsible for a large proportion of crime.5 2 Moffit T E (1993) Adolescence‐Limited and Life‐Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental Taxonomy, Psychological Review, 100(4): 674‐701, as cited in McLaren, above n 1, 17. Moffit, above n 3, as cited in McLaren, above n 1, 16. McLaren, above n 1, 36. K L McLaren, Tough is Not Enough - Getting Smart about Youth Crime, available at http://www.myd.govt.nz/Publications/Justice/toughisnotenough‐gettingsmartabout.aspx, (last accessed 21 June 2012), 16. Persistent young offenders are a difficult and worrying group that requires identification and intervention as early as the preschool years. Terrie Moffitt is one researcher who has put forward the “Desister” versus “Persister” theory. She concludes that:6 “a substantial body of longitudinal research consistently points to a very small group of males who display high rates of antisocial behaviour across time and in diverse situations. The professional nomenclature may change, but the faces remain the same as they drift through successive systems aimed at curbing their deviance: schools, program, psychiatric-treatment centres, and prisons.” (1996:15). Characteristics of Persisters:
PJDP-Family-Violence-Youth-Justice-Toolkit-AD.docx