NCJ Number
130081
Date Published
1991
Length
536 pages
Annotation
This text examines rules that define delinquency, delinquent behavior, theories of delinquency, and the juvenile justice system.
Abstract
Part I, "The Creation of Childhood and Delinquency," describes the historical interdependence of concepts of childhood, delinquency, and juvenile justice. This edition makes changes in the previous editions to reflect what historians continue to discover about the treatment of children in earlier times. Part II discusses the "Extent and Nature of Delinquent Behavior" by including the latest data from official accounts of lawbreaking as well as from self-reported and victim accounts. This edition has revised this part of the book more than any other as the "facts" about delinquency and the interpretation of them often change. Part III addresses "Scientific Explanations of Delinquent Behavior." During the 1980's, criminologists produced a number of studies to test these explanations. Although the book does not present all of these explanations, this edition includes many new studies to further the assessment of the causes of delinquency. This edition has rewritten Part IV to summarize "Juvenile Justice, Past, and Present." As in previous editions, this part presents and evaluates the traditional concept of juvenile justice; however, the previous edition examined the impact of this traditional concept on the actions of the police, the juvenile court, and corrections only through the late 1960's. This edition covers juvenile justice practices through the 1980's. Part V outlines and assesses the ways that labeling, radical, and neoclassical theories have contributed to a new concept of juvenile justice, one that de-emphasizes rehabilitation and focuses on punishment and deterrence. Chapter references, glossary, and author and subject indexes