CRIME PREVENTION

California Park and Recreation Society, 1995. "Park and Recreation Services are Essential- Public Safety Statements compiled by CPRS"

"For the same money that would put one new police officer on the street, the city could hire three recreation leaders who would have a much greater impact on keeping kids out of trouble and reducing crime." Mayor Sharpe James, Newark, NJ; President, National League of Cities

"I spend $2 million dollars in general fund money to run the county parks system. The sheriff spends $2 million a week. If you eliminated my department, you're not going to solve the law enforcement and safety problem in our county. We've got to have the money to provide a safe community to protect the natural resources and the social values that are important to us." Gene Andal, Director, Sacramento County Parks

"In 1988, the United States spent $7.7 billion on incarcerating convicted youths- a national average of $29,000 per juvenile delinquent. Delinquency is additionally connected to the high rate of school drop-outs. Each of these drop-outs costs over the course of their life times from $60,000 to $78,000 in lost taxes. A full year's worth of drop-outs will collectively cost the nation an estimated $260 million in lost earnings and taxes." John Crompton, Professor, Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University.

Poole, William. 1993. "The Case for Urban Open Space" DRAFT-prepared for TPL-SF

"Funds invested in parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities may save money in the long run by reducing delinquency and associated losses. Currently 700,000 youngsters a year enter the juvenile justice system. In 1988, the U.S. spent $7.7 billion locking up juvenile offenders."

Crompton, John L. 1993. "Repositioning Recreation and Park Services: An Overview." In Trends: Justifying Recreation and Parks to Decision Makers. v. 30, no. 4.

The Solent Sports Counseling Project is a well known sport and leisure program aimed at preventing criminal youth behavior in the County of Hampshire, England.

"Annual cost of the Hampshire program is approximately $200,000 and the number of clients that can be counseled is approximately 300 per year. Given the coast of keeping a juvenile incarcerated for one year is $29,000, if only 7 of the program's 300 clients are rescued by the program and as a result do not spend one year incarcerated then the program's costs are met. The financial break-even point is extraordinarily low."

Texas Parks and Wildlife and the National Park Service. August 1994. An American Network of Parks and Open Space: Creating a Conservation and Recreation Legacy.

"Today, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, it costs taxpayers $29,600 to keep one teenager in detention for a year. In 1993, this country spent $2.3 billion incarcerating juveniles."

Page last updated 04/03/2000