Mental Health Services Conference awards MST a Gold Achievement
Police in Western Australia described 2013’s 53-percent drop in serious juvenile crime as “extraordinary.” One explanation given for the decline is the expanded use of behavior-management programs. One hundred and sixty of the 297 offenders being handled by youth crime intervention officers were assigned to a program. These 160 youths accounted for 1,098 offenses costing taxpayers $2.5 million. Since being placed in interventions, the number of crimes committed by them dropped to 471.
"Besides the cost-benefit, addressing the underlying issues of these young people has now been shown to reduce reoffending,” said Western Australia acting police inspector Mark Fleskens said.