NCJ Number
103081
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 76 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1985) Pages: 1132- 1152
Date Published
1985
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Factors influencing juvenile pretrial detention decisions and the effect of detention on case disposition were evaluated in data for 55,681 delinquency cases processed in a single State between January 1979 and December 1981.
Abstract
Analyses indicate that neither relevant legal variables (e.g., offense severity and prior record) nor juvenile sociodemographic characteristics inform the detention decision, suggesting the decisionmaking process is idiosyncratic and based on considerations not relevant to the approved purposes of detention. There was no evidence that pretrial detention affected the severity of judicial dispositions. However, those who were detained were more likely to be handled through formal adjudication than informally. As informally handled cases tend to receive more lenient sanctions, this suggests that pretrial detention disadvantages those detained. This effect, however, is not uniform. Juveniles who are male, white, and older were more disadvantaged by detention than were those who were female, nonwhite, and younger. Finally, this effect of detention is small in comparison to the effects of such factors as prior record, offense severity, and race. 49 notes.