NCJ Number
129930
Journal
Research Bulletin Issue: 29 Dated: (1990) Pages: 37-41
Date Published
1990
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Information from 92 British youths who were placed under supervision orders or committed to custody for up to six months in 1985 formed the basis of an analysis of the impact of the Criminal Justice Act of 1982 on the use of supervision orders and the use of custodial and noncustodial sentences since the law took effect.
Abstract
The 1982 law sought to use the supervision order as a central element in the strategy to provide community sentencing for juvenile offenders who would otherwise have been placed in residential facilities. The youths were compared with a sample of 971 male, juvenile offenders from a 1977 study. Findings showed that supervision orders were increasingly used for more serious or repeat juvenile offenders, but were not becoming an alternative to custody for nonviolent recidivists. Therefore, the diversification of supervision has made only a minor contribution to the reduction in the use of custody for juveniles. Results also showed that legislation alone will not change practices. Instead, the government must persuade the probation service to diversify community-based sanctions, the probation officers to develop and recommend them, and the courts to use them. 6 references