Hi there. I am conducting a program evaluation of our services for juvenile crime. Yet, surprisingly I found that the most likely time for a juvenile to commit a crime is weekdays, instead of weekends. It doesn’t make sense to me… Is there anyone who could give me a hand?

It is true.

Wow. Evidence sound so powerful!

Data from as early as 1945 finds that more juvenile crime occurs on weekdays than on weekends and the peak time for juvenile crime is during the after-school hours. More recent data also has revealed that juvenile violence is more prevalent on school days, close to one-fifth of violent crimes committed by juveniles occur between 3 and 7 pm and that the most likely time for a juvenile to commit an assault with bodily harm or an assault with a weapon is between 3 and 4 pm. Not only do juveniles commit violent crimes in the hours after school, but juveniles are also more likely to be victimized between 3 and 4 pm. Contrary to what one might think, youth have a 60 percent greater risk of victimization in the four hours after school than from 8 pm to midnight on non-school nights. As youth move through adolescence, they increase their participation in activities taking place away from the family and have greater opportunities to both participate in deviant activities and become victims of crime. It has been argued that when school releases and youth are left unsupervised they are more likely to be influenced by their peers and there is an increased risk for delinquency.

You might try reading this review:
Weinstein, M. B., Fuller, K., Mulrooney, T., & Koch, G. (2014). The benefits of recreational programming on juvenile crime reduction: a review of literature and data. National Recreation and Parks Association, 344.