Jodi Lane
Professor of Criminology and Law, University of Florida
Key Findings
- There were no differences in juveniles returning to crime between the South Oxnard Challenge Program and the routine juvenile probationers.
- Youths were just as likely to reoffend whether they were in the South Oxnard Challenge Program or the routine system during the study.
Description
In the study, “Evaluating an Experimental Juvenile Probation Program: Intervention and Outcomes,” Lane examined the 1996 South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP) in California funded by 14 county probation agencies to try to keep troubled youths from being arrested again. The SOCP was developed as a single agency for comprehensive services. Youths were randomly assigned to one of two groups, SCOP or routine practice. Most youths were rearrested during the course of the research but did not receive sustained petition or incarceration. The results showed that SOCP did not make any difference in youths reoffending than the routine practice.