Effect of the Decision To Charge Upon Subsequent Delinquent Behaviour

• NCJ Number: 89168
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1983) Pages: 201-207
• Author(s): K J Kijewski
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: Based on the author's dissertation submitted to the University of Toronto's Centre of Criminology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.A. degree.

Annotation

A test of the validity of the labeling theory compared the effects on youths of their being charged and brought to juvenile court with those of their being cautioned for an offense. No significant difference in the youths' subsequent involvement with the legal system appeared between the two groups.

Abstract

Using the records from a southern Ontario police force, researchers examined the files of 142 juveniles who had been charged or cautioned for offenses under the Juvenile Delinquents Act from the time of contact in 1976 to 1980. The goal was to determine whether those juveniles who had been charged and appeared before the juvenile court were more likely to have subsequent contacts with the justice system (the labeling effect) than those juveniles who had been cautioned and released by the police, and whether subsequent offenses were more serious than those of cautioned juveniles. Findings showed that the mean number of subsequent contacts for official delinquencies was 2.65 for the charged group and 1.92 for the cautioned group. Thus, these study findings refute the labeling hypothesis that youths who are caught and officially labeled as delinquent will commit more serious delinquent acts in the future. Three tables and nine references are provided.