NCJ Number
84973
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: special edition (June 1982) Pages: 109-122
Date Published
1982
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Most females appear in court for status offenses and are treated more harshly than males. This double standard of juvenile justice is an international phenomenon. In the United States and Australia, law reformers have failed in attempts at legislative changes in the definition and processing of juvenile status offenders.
Abstract
In Victoria, Australia, and in California, status offense provisions exist to define grounds that justify intervention by social control agents into the lives of young people, particularly females. Legislative and procedural changes have not challenged the validity of these provisions or the juvenile court's role in dealing with status offenses. In California, efforts to limit institutionalization of status offenders have met with mixed success, as well as resistance from law enforcers and the community. Victorian legislation makes no distinction between status offense and illegal offense cases in the range of possible alternatives for court disposal. As a result, a high proportion of females are presented to court, made State wards, and/or kept in secure detention for status offending. This calls for more constructive solutions, such as the development of a range of housing options for status offenders. Study data, 19 endnotes, and about 40 references are supplied. (Author summary modified)