NCJ Number
125453
Date Published
1990
Length
428 pages
Annotation
This book examines trends and issues in juvenile delinquency with the help of professionals in the juvenile justice field, researchers, paraprofessionals, volunteers, and students.
Abstract
Many problems associated with juveniles that existed in the 1970's and 1980's are still prevalent in 1990. For example, substantial numbers of status offenders and dependent and neglected children are still being held in secure facilities, despite legislation and efforts to remove them from these settings. In addition, minority group youth continue to be over-represented in arrests for property and violent crime. New trends are also apparent; arrests of juveniles, which declined in the mid-1980's, now show slight increases. Further, arrests of teenagers for drug abuse, which fell markedly in the mid-1980's, are rising again, and alcohol-related arrests have also increased. There has been a substantial rise in gang activity and in the threat gangs pose in schools and inner city neighborhoods through their strong, negative peer influence. The debate over the appropriate role of juvenile courts in handling status offenders has largely subsided, with policies now in place for separating these juveniles from delinquent offenders in detention or placement settings. In response to the demand for firmer handling of serious juvenile offenders, policies of waiver to adult criminal courts and more severe dispositions for habitual, serious offenders have been instituted. A particularly significant trend is the return of responsibility for controlling and preventing juvenile delinquency to the community. The book identifies various perspectives on juvenile delinquency causation, family functioning and delinquency, female delinquency, key issues in the juvenile justice process, and juvenile offender treatment. 843 notes, 7 tables 11 figures.