Ability School Engagement Program (Australia)

This is a school dropout reduction program. It consists of a police-school partnership that seeks to improve the legal understanding of truancy and antisocial behavior in students and their parents by:
1) increasing awareness of truancy laws;
2) promoting the perceived legitimacy of those laws; and
3) empowering participants to re-engage with school, thereby increasing attendance and reducing absenteeism.

Impact evaluations

The results show a positive effect on absenteeism among program participants. Intervened students were less likely to be absent from school and more likely to report being willing to attend school, when compared to students who did not participate in the program [1]. A reduction in juvenile delinquent behavior, including violent and nonviolent offenses, has been observed [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Mazerolle, L., Antrobus, E., Bennett, S. & Eggins, E. (2017). Reducing Truancy and Fostering a Willingness to Attend School: Results from a Randomized Trial of a Police-School Partnership Program. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 18(4), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0771-7

[2] Bennett, S., Mazerolle, L., Antrobus, E., Eggins, E. & Piquero, A. R. (2017). Truancy Intervention Reduces Crime: Results from a Randomized Field Trial. Justice Quarterly, 35(2), 309–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2017.1313440

Information source

Crime Solutions