Mental health and substance abuse treatment and juvenile crime

There is a large body of literature examining the determinants of juvenile crime, which highlights economic, family, peer, and educational factors associated with delinquency and recidivism, and the important roles of social service and educational systems. Two factors, substance abuse and mental illness are also potentially important. The observed high correlations between crime, substance abuse and poor mental health suggests that factors which reduce substance abuse and improve mental health may also be effective in reducing criminal activities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of mental health and substance abuse treatment in reducing crimes committed by juveniles.

This paper uses detention data in conjunction with substance abuse and mental health treatment data for youth enrolled in the Colorado state foster care program over a three year period. Duration models are used to examine the structural determinants of detention. We analyze the impact of treatment in delaying or preventing this group of at-risk youth from engaging in criminal behavior. Violent crimes are analyzed separately. We also include the price of beer in all models to gauge the effectiveness of higher beer prices in reducing crime, holding treatment constant.

The analysis finds that individuals who receive treatment have lower probabilities of being detained for any offence. Accounting for the unobserved heterogeneity makes the magnitude of these effects larger. Also consistent with our theory, higher beer prices lower the detention hazard.

Results of this study suggest that expansion of health services targeted at these youth may be effective at reducing crime. For violent crime, where the literature shows that substance abuse plays a significant role, stricter alcohol-regulatory policies may also be highly effective.