NCJ Number
91040
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1983) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
J Galvir
Date Published
1983
Length
149 pages
Annotation
The six papers in this special issue address trends in juvenile delinquency, the impact of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act on juvenile offenders, public opinion regarding delinquency, and the relevance to future policy of prevention programs initiated in previous decades.
Abstract
An overview cites the significant decline in delinquency since the mid-1970's and recommends revising public policy to address violent juvenile crime, public misconceptions of juvenile delinquency, and the preservation of successful components of recent programs. An analysis of juvenile arrests, court processing, and admissions to correctional facilities between 1974 and 1979 reveals decreases in the involvement of status offenders in the justice system, and of female admissions to public correctional institutions, with little change in male admissions. The article also discusses State trends in admission rates to training schools and detention facilities. Another study shows how status offenders differ from other delinquents in their lower rates of recidivism, differing offense careers, and vulnerability to labeling from court contacts. The next paper uses self-report data to examine trends in female delinquency, concluding that females still exhibit far lower crime levels than males, are not increasing their involvement in serious or aggressive crime, and remain more inhibited by parental and school attachments. A historical analysis of Clifford Shaw's pioneering Chicago Area Project conducted in the 1930's and 1940's suggests that this community-based delinquency prevention effort may have achieved its goal more successfully than have various programs of the 1970's and may be very relevant to future public policy. The final paper traces major shifts in Federal juvenile justice policy over the past 2 decades and suggests issues that will require new approaches. References accompany individual presentations. For individual articles, see NCJ 91041-44.