Juvenile Crime Enforcement and Intervention Research Project

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG) allows states and units of local governments, including tribes, to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own state and local needs and conditions. Grant funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice, including for any one or more of the following purpose areas: 1) law enforcement programs; 2) prosecution and court programs; 3) prevention and education programs; 4) corrections and community corrections programs; 5) drug treatment and enforcement programs; 6) planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; and 7) crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).

Seminole County will use the JAG funds to enter into a partnership with University of Central Florida, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, to conduct a research project on the efficiencies and recidivism rates within the Juvenile Crime Enforcement and Intervention Division program. The project will perform a longitudinal study that will make a comparison of the programs being used by juveniles for the past five to seven years and make some determinations as to the effectiveness of the programming and the likelihood of successful termination from probation or conditional release. The goal is to determine the recidivism rate of juveniles, the factors which best predict recidivism failure among youths, and develop an on-going evaluation scheme for each Seminole County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) juvenile program and overall SCSO Juvenile Division program for continuous quality improvement purposes.

NCA/NCF