Speaking of Delinquency

Sometimes people ask me how I developed my approach to working with young people. It’s not an easy answer. I’ve been in the field since I began as a 17 year old “hippie hotline” drug crisis counselor in 1970, and everything I’ve done and experienced since then has contributed to how I work with young people today. But along the way there have been a few resources that stand out in my memory as having had significant influence on my beliefs and perspectives. Periodically, I’ll share these resources in Youth Advocate Online.

The first I would like to share is Radical Non-Intervention: Rethinking the Delinquency Problem, a book written by Edwin Schur released in 1973. I actually still have my original, highlighted copy, and I recently picked it up and read through the highlights. What fascinated (and saddened) me the most was just how relevant the book remains, despite having been penned over three decades ago! It is for this reason that I feel comfortable recommending the book for current reading.

Unfortunately, the book is out of print. Not to worry … copies can still be found. In fact, you can purchase a used copy through the in4y.com marketplace (pretty cheaply, too). But, if you are the impatient type who doesn’t feel like ordering and reading a book, I have another option for you. In the Web Resources section of the InterNetwork for Youth is a link to an article written by a criminologist named Randell G. Shelton, titled Resurrecting Radical Non-Intervention: Stop the War on Kids. The article includes a summary of Schur’s book and a perspective on its application and relevance in today’s world. Schur’s book is better, of course, but Shelton’s article gives you a good introduction. I highly recommend that you take 15 minutes at some point to read it through.