NCJ Number
79037
Journal
RODINO INSTITUTE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ANNUAL JOURNAL Volume: 2 Dated: (1980) Pages: Complete Issue
Date Published
1980
Length
64 pages
Annotation
These addresses and panel presentations from the 1979 Conference on Juvenile Justice Reform discuss the scope of the problem of youth crime, the history of the juvenile justice system, the impact of court decisions on juvenile courts, philosophical issues, and recent developments in juvenile justice reform.
Abstract
Introductory remarks note that about half of all serious street crimes in the United States are committed by juveniles. Some reasons for the extent of youth crime are identified, and some trends in juvenile justice reform are briefly mentioned. The movement of the juvenile court system from an informal procedure designed to rehabilitate youth to a more formal adjudication with constitutional provisions paralleling the adult criminal court is traced in a background paper. Some needed changes in the juvenile justice system and current proposals for juvenile justice reform are considered in two other addresses. Panel presentations that reexamine philosophical issues of juvenile justice examine criteria for the institutionalization of youth and standards for dealing with status offenders. A second group of panel presentations discusses a project designed to gather data on current operations of juvenile courts, some New Jersey juvenile justice reforms, the general failure of the existing juvenile justice system, and dispositional alternatives for juveniles. The concluding address reviews current Federal efforts in juvenile justice reform. Footnotes accompany a number of the addresses. For specific papers in this collection, see NCJ 79038 and 79039.