The Prime Time for Juvenile Crime in Oregon

The more than 5,000 law enforcement leaders around the nation who are members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, have long known that the hours immediately after school lets out, when parents are likely not available to supervise, are the prime time for juvenile crime. Over the past 20 years, law enforcement leaders across the country have relied on high-quality afterschool programs to provide supportive, stable, and enriching environments with caring adults that keep children and youth out of trouble and safe, while supporting their academic success, and social and emotional development.

The Prime Time for Juvenile Crime in Oregon

In Oregon, juvenile crime peaks from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with 29 percent of school-day incidences recorded at that time. About 24 percent of all juvenile crime on school days falls during the hours following the last school bell from 2 to 6 p.m.

The crime peaks not occurring from 2 to 6 p.m. are largely due to much of law enforcement in those states recording youth criminal activity as having all occurred at only one hour during the day, often noon or midnight. This would artificially inflate the crime rate for that time period.

Program Highlight: Todos Juntos, Clackamas County

In 2000, Todos Juntos first began as a Latin Club and soccer program serving gang-involved middle school youth in Clackamas County, Oregon. Since its inception, it has evolved into a program that provides a wide range of services and supports—from robotics to academic help— to more than 1,800 K-12th graders and families at nine schools. Students in the program, which include youth who are identified as at-risk by school counselors and referred to the program and youth who are first time offenders in the juvenile justice system and referred to the program by the Clackamas County Juvenile Department, are able to take part in programming that is tailored to their needs. For example, students who have had behavioral incidents at school may take part in Todos Juntos’s Boys Council or Girls Circle, small group programming where staff and students create a safe space and build trust with one another. Through small group programming, students learn what their emotional triggers are, how to manage conflict, and how to treat others with respect. Students also engage in larger group activities to build meaningful relationships with one another and learn to work in a team.

Over the past two years, the program has worked with the Molalla River Middle School on an In-School Diversion program that combines restorative justice and community service to reduce student expulsions and suspensions. The program has reported that the middle school has found a reduction in school day suspensions since the program was started.