NCJ Number
102754
Date Published
1983
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This manual explains the nature and process of resident mobilization, an effort to involve neighborhood residents and socializing organizations in addressing the problem of violent juvenile delinquency by strengthening neighborhood supervision and control over youth.
Abstract
Resident mobilization is a central concept in the Violent Juvenile Offender Program. The concept of resident mobilization rests on the assumptions that neighborhood disorganization reduces the supervision of youth and that parents, other neighborhood residents, and local institutions should be responsible and can improve their abilities to exercise this control and supervision. Spontaneous mobilization is mostly reactive, focused on a crisis, and of short duration. In contrast, planned mobilization is more proactive and goal-oriented. It is a long-range process that entails the education, motivation, and organization of neighborhood leadership. To be effective, the local leadership has to be neighborhood-oriented, competent, credible, and committed. The national program to promote resident mobilization also requires that youth leaders serve as equals to adult leaders and have a critical role in the development and implementation of the effort. A crime analysis system is useful in the process of developing neighborhood mobilization. Six principles on which resident mobilization should rest are listed.