NCJ Number
34931
Date Published
1975
Length
83 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE SENTENCING OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS IN NEW ZEALAND AND THE PREDICTION FROM LABELING THEORY THAT THOSE WHO RECEIVE MORE SEVERE SENTENCES ARE MORE LIKELY TO REOFFEND.
Abstract
THIS REPORT FIRST OUTLINES THE MAIN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF DELINQUENCY, EXPLAINS LABELING AS A GENERAL THEORY OF DEVIANCES, APPLIES LABELLING AS APPLIED TO JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, IT THEN DESCRIBES THE THEORETICAL WORK UNDERLYING THE EMPIRICAL WORK OF THIS STUDY, WHICH INVOLVED AN ANALYSIS OF THE COURT RECORDS OF 928 CASES OF JUVENILES APPEARING BEFORE THE WELLINGTON (NEW ZEALAND) CHILDREN'S COURT BETWEEN 1968 AND 1972. THE SAMPLE COMPRISED ALL THOSE JUVENILES WITH DATES OF BIRTH IN 1955 PLUS FEMALES AND POLYNESIAN MALES WITH DATES OF BIRTH IN 1956. THE COURT DECISIONS ARE FIRST EXAMINED FOR BIAS BASED ON TEN DIFFERENT VARIABLES AND THEN THE EFFECTS OF THE VARIOUS SENTENCES ARE EXAMINED FOR THEIR EFFECT ON REOFFENDING. STUDY FINDINGS REVEALED A CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TYPE OF CHARGE, SERIOUSNESS OF OFFENSE, PARENTAL SITUATION, AND HISTORY OF PREVIOUS CONTACT WITH POLICE OR WELFARE WORKERS. MALES SENTENCED TO SUPERVISION AT THEIR FIRST APPEARANCE WERE FOUND TO BE MORE LIKELY TO REOFFEND THAN THOSE WARNED AND DISCHARGED (82 PERCENT AS COMPARED TO 46 PERCENT RESPECTIVELY), AS WERE POLYNESIANS AND THOSE FROM BROKEN HOMES. THERE WERE NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS FOUND IN THE FEMALE DATA. THE APPENDIX CONTAINS A DISCUSSION OF THE SERIOUSNESS SCALE USED TO RATE OFFENSES, AN EXPLANATION OF THE STATISTICS USED, 51 TABLES OF STUDY. RESULTS DATA, AND DETAILS OF ADJOURNMENTS WITHIN DIFFERENT SUBSAMPLES OF THE COHORT GROUP. A SEVEN PAGE LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED.