NCJ Number
82240
Date Published
1981
Length
193 pages
Annotation
Testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice on July 9, 1981, focuses on the causes and remedies for violent juvenile crime.
Abstract
Testimony from the founder and director for the Alliance of Guardian Angels, based in New York, recounted the philosophy and methods of this group of young citizens committed to countering and deterring violent street crime. The director of the House of Umoja in Philadelphia testified on the efforts of this organization to provide a family structure for young blacks associated with street gangs. Testimony was also provided by the director of New Pride in Denver, Colo., a multifaceted program committed to normalizing community behavior of juvenile serious repeat offenders. Testimony by the acting Director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention covered the extent and nature of violent juvenile crime, the characteristics of the violent juvenile offender, and the effectiveness of restitution programs with juvenile offenders. Also included in the report are findings from a study of 100 Dade County (Fla.) juvenile offenders and their families designed to determine background and personality characteristics. Findings are also presented from two longitudinal birth cohort studies that examined the frequency and pattern of juvenile delinquency. Criminal justice personnel testified on ways whereby the criminal justice system might respond more effectively to the threat and the needs of violent juvenile offenders. Tabular data from the research studies are presented, and some written statements of witnesses are appended.