Based on two systematic reviews with meta-analyses (one of them by the Campbell Collaboration) conducted in the early 2000s, the Crime Solutions platform describes Youth Awareness Programs Through Prison Visits as not only ineffective to deter juvenile delinquency, but also counterproductive. This is due to the fact that, according to both reviews, the chances of recidivism are higher, on average, among those who participate in these programs compared to those do not [1] [2].
More recently (2013), the Campbell Collaboration’s systematic review was updated. This new version included nine studies and reaffirmed the conclusion that, contrary to their initial purpose, youth awareness programs fail to deter crime and may even lead to an increase rather than a decrease in criminal behavior [3].
The Crime Reduction Toolkit platform analyzed the results of another systematic review that reinforce that youth awareness programs using confrontational techniques do not work to reduce crime. However, in this case, the authors add the caveat that their non-confrontational counterparts may be promising. This is because the review included three impact evaluations focused on programs of this type and, in this case, although the effects were not statistically significant, they were close to this level. In light of this, the authors argue that these interventions can be effective if they adopt a non-confrontational approach and if they are combined with other preventive strategies that have already been shown to be effective, such as aftercare programs [4].
Based on this review, the Crime Reduction Toolkit platform also classifies this type of intervention as counterproductive, as it generates an overall increase in delinquency and crime levels (recidivism was 68% higher among young people who participated in the program than among those who did not).