NCJ Number
89822
Date Published
1982
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Findings from the evaluations of the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977, combined with the results of earliest research and demonstration activities of the Department of Labor, indicate that employment and training programs do have a favorable impact on crime.
Abstract
Findings show that employment and training activities do yield reductions in arrest rates and presumably in the criminal activities which lead to arrest, although the impacts vary by type of intervention and target group. Job Corps produces substantial absolute and proportional reductions in arrests and incarceration both during and after program participation. The summer youth employment program results in a large proportional reduction in the rather low arrest probabilities of participants during the summer months. Work experience for out-of-school youth or exoffenders does not reduce arrest rates, but work combined with drug treatment results in substantial reductions in the arrest rates of exaddicts. In-school programs yield no changes in arrest patterns during or after participation, although alternative education programs may have some positive results. The Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) is an important treatment mechanism for offenders. The impacts of employment and training programs on crime constitute significant savings to society in criminal justice and corrections costs, but the benefits from crime reduction alone do not justify the cost of the interventions. Tabular data and 25 notes are provided.