NCJ Number
63756
Date Published
1979
Length
21 pages
Annotation
THE INCREASE IN THE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY RATE AFTER WORLD WAR II WAS A REAL INCREASE AND RESULTED FROM A CHANGE IN AMERICAN SOCIAL POLICY TOWARDS CHILDREN.
Abstract
THIS ESSAY EXAMINES THE MAJOR TRENDS IN DELINQUENCY SINCE 1940, EXAMINES THE CHANGES IN SOCIAL POLICY TOWARD DELINQUENCY, AND THE IMPLICATIONS IN AN ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY. THE REPORT IS BASED ON UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS AND JUVENILE COURT STATISTICS. THE ESSAY DESCRIBES THE CHANGES IN THE COMPILATION OF NATIONAL DELINQUENCY STATISTICS, AND THE PROBLEMS OF MEASUREMENT AND INTERPRETATION OF POLICE AND JUDICIAL RECORDS IN DELINQUENCY. THE PROBLEMS NOTED INCLUDE QUESTIONS OF BEHAVIOR OF JUVENILES IN RELATION TO POLICE DISCRETIONARY POWER, THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE INCREASE IN THE JUVENILE ARREST RATE IS DUE TO GREATER POLICE EFFICIENCY, CHANGES IN THE DEFINITION OF DELINQUENCY, AND THE INABILITY OF ARREST DATA TO REFLECT THE VAST MAJORITY OF DELINQUENT ACTS. TRENDS IN OFFICIAL DELINQUENCY ARE EXAMINED FOR WHAT THEY REVEAL ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE INCREASE IN DELINQUENCY. OTHER APPROACHES MADE ARE TO SEE DELINQUENCY OCCURRENCE DIFFERENTIALLY BY SOCIAL CLASS, WITH AUTO THEFT USED AS THE EXAMPLE, AND TO COMPARE DELINQUENCY RATES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS MORE OR LESS ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC SOCIAL CLASSES. THEORETICAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS ARE STUDIED, WITH THE NOTE THAT SHIFTS IN EMPHASIS ON SOCIAL POLICY FROM TREATING THE INDIVIDUAL, TO REORGANIZING POOR NEIGHBORHOODS, TO RADICAL NONINTERVENTION APPEAR TO HAVE LITTLE IMPACT ON LONG-TERM NATIONAL TRENDS. THE ESSAY CONCLUDES THAT THE CONTINUOUS INCREASE IS RELATED TO STRUCTURAL CONTRADICTIONS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY, IN PARTICULAR TO MANPOWER NEEDS IN THE POST-WAR ERA, THE STRUCTURE OF EXTENDED SCHOOLING, AND THE PROLONGED DEPENDENCY WHICH THIS REQUIRES. CHARTS, DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, AND NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (RFC)