NCJ Number
174333
Date Published
1997
Length
32 pages
Annotation
The juvenile justice system is described in terms of its history, laws, definitions of juvenile delinquency, the nature and extent of youth crime, the administration of juvenile justice, and current issues related to juvenile delinquency.
Abstract
Recent legislative changes in various States in the 1980s and 1990s have resulted from increasing public pressure to become more punitive toward juvenile offenders. A shift has also occurred from protective rights defined in the parens patriae doctrine to liberating rights related to due process and accountability. Thus, many juvenile codes have changed to deemphasize rehabilitation and more strongly emphasize public protection, punishment, justice, deterrence, and accountability. Changes have included a shift from indeterminate to determinate and mandatory sentencing, to more easily try juveniles in adult criminal courts, to increased institutionalization of juvenile offenders, and to permitting juvenile capital punishment. The United States has high crime and delinquency rates compared to other industrialized countries. Arrest statistics, self-report surveys, and victimization surveys provide data on levels and trends in violent, property, and drug law offenses. Researchers have examined the roles of peers, family, school, age, gender, social class, and race in juvenile delinquency. Juvenile court procedures vary considerably from one jurisdiction to the next. Further research is needed to determine whether the physical, psychological, and social well-being of juveniles has improved as a consequence of the shift from protective rights and the rehabilitative ideal to liberating rights and an emphasis on punishment and accountability. Figures, table, footnote, list of cases, and 51 references