NCJ Number
121649
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1990) Pages: 48-50
Date Published
1990
Length
3 pages
Annotation
There are four current trends in the changing demography of juvenile crime that will press the juvenile justice system toward a rediscovery of the value of treatment for juveniles: the feminization of juvenile crime, the criminalization of drug addiction, male sex offenses, and the trend toward younger juvenile offenders.
Abstract
When young women become involved in serious crime, as more are tending to do, America's gender-related social values condition the perception that these girls suffer from some psychological trauma or emotional disturbance that requires treatment. The trend toward the prosecution of drug-dependent youth as criminals is also likely to increase the pressure for the correctional system to provide drug treatment for these youth. The increasing number of arrests of male juveniles for sex offenses is likely to enhance treatment emphases as well, since it is traditionally assumed that if a young man commits a sexual offense, he needs treatment. As the number of young juveniles committing offenses increases, the pressure toward treatment intervention increases in an effort to prevent these juveniles from developing into adult criminals.