by Joni James of The Register-Guard
Lane County got a new weapon Friday in its war on crime when the University of Oregon announced it is forming a research institute that will tackle anti-social behavior among teenagers and young children.
The Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior joins 25 other programs in the country that receive federal funding for their efforts to combat crime, UO Professor Hill Walker, co-director of the new institute, said at a news conference.
The institute, which will be housed in the College of Education, will seek to apply to schools, juvenile detention centers and similar organizations any lessons it learns in how to counter anti-social behavior, Walker said.
“We want to be a conduit… and make available this kind of information to individuals who can make a difference, so that people don’t suffer this feeling of helplessness that they don’t know what they can do,” Walker said.
The institute plans to work with teachers, parents and social service agencies to identify toddlers with anti-social behavior. The groups will then try to help the children learn to make friends and succeed in preschool and beyond.
Research suggests that success early in a child’s life reduces the odds that the child later will turn to crime, Walker said.
Local school administrators and those in the criminal justice system applauded the new program Friday.
“If we are to win the war against violence, we will win it in our schools and in our preschools,” said Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad. “If we don’t win it there, by the time it gets to me, it’s too late.”
Reprinted with permission. Copyright 1995, The Register-Guard, www.registerguard.com.