NCJ Number
89063
Date Published
1983
Length
41 pages
Annotation
Policymakers and researchers should realize that status offenders are not predelinquent youths and that intervention strategies for them have often been inappropriate.
Abstract
An analysis of offense patterns reveals that the police, courts, and social service agencies spend far more time with misdemeanants and serious delinquents than status offenders. For example, the 1976 Uniform Crime Reports noted that status offenders accounted for only 15 percent of all juvenile arrests. However, self-report studies have found that over 90 percent of the youths admit to behavior that would be considered a status offense if reported to the police. While evidence shows that status offenders' recidivism rates range between 17 and 50 percent, those who recidivate do so as repeat status offenders in the short term. When there is evidence of escalation, it is usually status offenders becoming misdemeanants rather than felons. Various deinstitutionalization programs have removed status offenders from secure facilities but have not reduced recidivism or controlled the escalation of status offenses, possibly because they have the false goal of reducing delinquency in a population that never had any meaningful amounts of delinquency. Moreover, it is unclear whether deinstitutionalization and diversion efforts have provided more or better treatment programs for these offenders. Many have offered only short-term crisis intervention or counseling that has varied enormously in quality, neglecting the full range of programs and services that might prove beneficial. Tables and approximately 100 references are included.