Making a difference?: an evaluation of the "Kiwi Can" school based values education and crime prevention programme

Abstract

Crime is a problem that has negative effects for victims, offenders, and their communities. Victims of crime may experience severe psychological distress (Campbell, & Schwarz, 1996), and young offenders are more likely to experience decreased educational achievement and poor employment prospects (Tanner, Davies & O'Grady, 1999). Furthermore, crime is related to decreased community cohesion and increased social disorganisation (Bellair, 1997; Rose & Clear, 1998). Communities therefore demand that something be done to combat this problem. Reported crime rates have decreased in New Zealand over the past three years (Statistics New Zealand, 2000 cited in NZ Police, 2001a). The New Zealand Police have given various explanations for this trend. While the recent crime statistics may seem positive, recorded crime rates are not necessarily synonymous with the number of actual incidents of crime that occur in this country (NZ Police cited in Porirua City Council, 2001). The reason for why reported crime rates are down could be due to the public reporting less of the incidents that actually take place (NZ Police cited in Porirua City Council, 2001). Alternatively the NZ Police contend that the decrease in reported crime could be due to the success of various crime prevention programmes that they have been running over this time such as the "Youth at risk of offending" programmes which began in 1997 (NZ Police, 2001b). It should be noted however, that any single crime prevention effort is unlikely to have caused a change in the national crime statistics. Numerous strategies and initiatives aimed to prevent young people from ever engaging in criminal activity have been developed worldwide to help reduce the prevalence of crime.