NCJ Number
169015
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 59 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1997) Pages: 142,144,150
Date Published
1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The 1997 National Juvenile Corrections and Detention Forum focused on public attitudes and media coverage of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice, ways for juvenile justice administrators to deal with high-visibility incidents, the experiences of youth today, and other issues.
Abstract
The meeting was conducted by the American Correctional Association and funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Newspaper reporter John Hubner spoke about the tendency of the press to print the sensational. He recommended efforts to change the confidentiality laws so that press understand the needs to protect the confidentiality of children, approach newspaper and television editors about individual stories, and bringing volunteers into the system. Other speakers discussed ways for forum participants to work successfully to inform the public and gain positive coverage, to maintain an ongoing relationship with the local media to facilitate communication following a high-visibility incident, and the need for elected officials to know about successful programs. Other presentations describes the violence and neglect that many adolescents experience and the distortion of statistics rather than the use of research to support conclusions.