NCJ Number
86650
Journal
Rodino Institute Volume: 2 Dated: (1980) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1980
Length
64 pages
Annotation
A series of workshop papers on juvenile justice reform considers current rethinking of philosophical assumptions underlying the juvenile justice system and recent developments in juvenile justice reform, notably deinstitutionalization and efforts to reduce intervention for status offenses.
Abstract
The disproportionate involvement of juveniles in serious crime must be addressed, but the call for harsher treatment is too simplistic to be an adequate remedy. The problem is not that the juvenile courts have erred on the side of softness but rather that they have been indiscriminately too lenient and too harsh. Comprehensive change in juvenile court operation and in the associated system of services is necessary (1) to make juvenile offenders accountable for serious misconduct, (2) to afford the citizenry better protection from criminal behavior, and (3) to provide clear policies for distinguishing between the need for protective intervention and punitive intervention. The latter policies should ensure that the primary function of the juvenile court is that of trier of fact and adjudicator of conflict; children who have committed criminal acts should receive dispositions based on the seriousness of their offenses; and juveniles who have not committed adult crimes should not be treated as criminals. The foregoing issues are debated in the essays presented. (Publisher summary modified)