NCJ Number
150994
Editor(s)
R W Harding
Date Published
1993
Length
163 pages
Annotation
This report evaluates the impact of legislation that took effect in Western Australia in early 1992 that increased penalties for repeat juvenile offenders.
Abstract
The legislation was a response to public and political concerns following traffic fatalities resulting from police pursuits of juvenile auto thieves and others. Following its introduction, the government claimed that decreases in auto theft, police pursuits, and other offenses were due to the deterrent effects of the increased penalties. However, this analysis revealed that the laws failed according to every criminological criterion by which they can properly be evaluated. The data reveal no significant reductions in car theft attributable to the new law. The legislation was enacted in an atmosphere of moral panic, but its emphasis on individual deterrence is unlikely to significantly reduce car theft or hazardous high-speed pursuits. In contrast, the only philosophy that consistently offers hope is one that tries to draw multiproblem youth into society rather than drive them out of it. Although some youths must be identified and isolated for some periods, this process must be subtle and conscientious rather than indiscriminate and crude and must be done with compassion and understanding rather than rage and revenge. Figures, tables, and footnotes