NCJ Number
91734
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 34 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1983) Pages: 61-75
Date Published
1983
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study reviews the historical background of the development of juvenile justice, and the reasons for criticism against it; it then analyzes the changes which occurred in handling juvenile delinquents as a result of the critiques.
Abstract
The juvenile justice system was a product of the progressive era, reflecting the ideologies of child protectionism, delinquent rehabilitation through focus on the individual's background and personality characteristics, and social environmental positivism. The juvenile system created under these influences remained in effect until the latter half of the 20th century, when it began to draw both liberal and conservative criticism. While the former called for due process and sought to protect the rights of juveniles caught in the system, the latter insisted on the failure of rehabilitation and demanded harsher penalties for wrongdoers, considering juvenile justice system practices too lenient. As a consequence of these criticisms, policy changes have brought about such programing as the decriminalization of status offenders, diversion, victim restitution, deinstitutionalization and community treatment, behavior modification, and biosocial approaches to the treatment of delinquency. Because none of these have succeeded in dramatically reducing juvenile delinquency, a return to the rehabilitative ideal is foreseeable in the future. A total of 102 footnotes are given.