Abstract

Community-Based Responses to Youth Crime:
Challenges and Opportunities

Tullio Caputo, Katharine Kelly and Mark Totten

Over the past two decades, there has been an increasing emphasis on community-based responses to youth in conflict with the law. This paper examines some of the challenges and benefits of extra-legal measures in work with communities, and is based upon the experience of a SSHRC Community-University Research Alliance restorative justice program in a major metropolitan area. The Project’s goal is to build the capacities of young offenders, victims, and communities in an integrated and holistic response to youth crime, supporting the development of denser “social webs”. It is based on the theoretical proposition that people with strong ties to their communities (including opportunities for personal growth and access to social services), especially youth, are not likely to re-offend. Issues discussed include: defining “community”; garnering the support and participation of low-income and visible minority community members, schools, youth-serving organizations, and the legal system; and sustainability. Theoretical and social welfare policy implications are discussed.

Bios

Drs. Tullio Caputo and Katharine Kelly are Associate Professors at the Department of Sociology, Carleton University, and investigators for the CURA Youth in Conflict with the Law Project. Dr. Mark Totten is Director of Research at the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa and Director of the CURA Youth in Conflict with the Law Project.

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