NCJ Number
99491
Date Published
1985
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article reviews existing research on the background characteristics and offense patterns of status offenders in order to determine whether they are worthy of the effort of intervention by the court or other agencies.
Abstract
One view of status offenders maintains their rejection of authority as expressed through running away or truancy could lead to delinquency or situations that encourage delinquent behavior. Others argue that status offenders have more in common with the typical rebellious teenager than youths engaging in serious criminal behavior. Studies that have tried to evaluate the scope of the status offender problem for police, courts, and social services have generally found that these agencies spend most of their time with misdemeanants and serious delinquents rather than status offenders. Studies in self-reported involvement in status offenses, however, have discovered that over 90 percent of the youngsters admit to engaging in behavior that would be considered a status offense if known to the police. Available evidence also suggests that status offenders do re-enter the system with recidivism rates ranging from a low of 17 percent to upwards of 50 percent. Thus, those who exhibit noncriminal behavior are a problem for the police and courts because they return so often. Research into whether status offenders escalate into delinquents has produced mixed results, but evidence indicates that status offenders in the short term recidivate as status offenders. Where there is evidence of escalation, it is usually status offenders becoming misdemeanants rather than felons. These data suggest that while status offenders are troubled youth who are worthy of effort, perhaps they require a different response from the juvenile justice system.