Violent Juvenile Offenders (From Different Crimes Different Criminals: Understanding, Treating and Preventing Criminal Behavior, P 135-157, 2006, Doris Layton MacKenzie, Lauren O’Neill, et al. eds. -- See NCJ-217024)

• NCJ Number: 217030
• Author(s): Wendy Povitsky
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: Anderson Publishing Co
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Curriculum
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter discusses violent juvenile offenders, including theoretical perspectives regarding why children become violent offenders and promising treatment approaches.

Abstract

Violent juvenile offenders are defined as persons under the age of 18 years who “make an immediate threat or imposition of injury to another person.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identifies murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault as violent juvenile crimes. The author describes these types of violent juvenile crimes and analyzes trends in rates of violent juvenile offending over the past 30 years. Theoretical perspectives that address how children become violent offenders are reviewed which focus on risk factors for children and adolescents. Risk factors are difficult to pinpoint but are thought to include psychological and social factors, including family structure and abuse and juvenile substance abuse. The most common treatment approaches for violent juvenile offenders are considered, most of which are corrections-based. Treatments are generally designed to reduce the risk of future violent offending and, on a broader level, to rehabilitate juvenile violent offenders so they may successfully reenter society. Treatment approaches include boot camps, which strive to create a stressful environment in an effort to make youth vulnerable to positive change influences. Effectiveness data on boot camps has been negative and they have been criticized as expensive to operate. A more promising treatment approach is known as moral reconation therapy (MRT), which focuses on increasing the moral reasoning skills of youthful offenders through a 16-step program that begins during incarceration and continues into aftercare. Another treatment approach known as multisystemic therapy (MST) strives to change violent behavior by changing key aspects of youths’ social contexts, such as their interactions within their family, with peers, and at school. Effectiveness data for MST has shown it to be among the most promising treatments for young violent offenders currently available. References