NCJ Number
163275
Date Published
1996
Length
362 pages
Annotation
This book profiles programs for juveniles, primarily in the United States, that depart from conventional regimes in their effort to deal with juveniles in a more positive and effective way.
Abstract
Most of the programs mentioned are in the United States, since this country has had the incentive to try a variety of means to address the serious youth crime problem. Also, the 50 States have the autonomy to pursue their own views of what is needed to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency. A chapter that summarizes the causes of juvenile delinquency considers biological and psychological factors, parenting, social learning theories, strain theories, control theories, labeling theories, and the control of delinquency. Another chapter focuses on alternative preventive measures. The initiatives described constitute some novel and different ways of encouraging juveniles to abide by the legal as well as the moral norms of society. The techniques vary, for example, from teaching children alternatives to violent behavior, to demonstrating what the consequences of delinquent behavior can be, and to establishing positive attitudes toward the law and law enforcement. Some of the measures target special groups of juveniles, and others address certain types of delinquency. A chapter profiles alternative ways of processing delinquents before dispositional court intervention. These include counselors on the street, home detention, report centers, and screening panels. Other chapters describe programs that constitute alternative ways of diverting delinquents from formal court proceedings, alternative ways of processing delinquents during formal court proceedings, alternative suspended sentences for delinquent acts, alternative definite sentences for delinquent acts, alternative methods used during confinement, and alternative approaches' implications for juvenile justice. 484 references and appended survey sent to program coordinators, survey sent to each U.S. State, contributing agencies in the U.S., and contributing agencies outside the U.S.