NCJ Number
209298
Journal
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2005 Pages: 133-150
Date Published
April 2005
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined developmental, contextual, and intervention characteristics of young chronic offenders in a southeastern State by using case-study data.
Abstract
For the purposes of this study, "juvenile offenders" were defined as "any youth under the age of 18 who had committed a criminal offense and had been arrested for that offense." "Young chronic offenders" were distinguished as a subset of "juvenile offenders" by the number of offenses committed and the age at which the chain of offenses began. The target population for this study included all young chronic offenders in the State, defined as youth ages 11 and younger who had committed 10 offenses for which they had been arrested over a 12-month period, or youth ages 12 to 15 who had committed 15 offenses for which they had been arrested over an 18-month period. The total number of such offenders in fiscal year 1995/96 was 1,389. The sample of other juvenile offenders in the comparison group was 5,319. "Young chronic offenders" accounted for 49.5 percent of the juvenile offenses committed during the year of data collection. The sample for this study was a subgroup of 63 young chronic offenders randomly selected from this subgroup of juvenile offenders. Case study reviews were used to collect information on each of the sample members. Individual and contextual themes identified pertained to early onset of problems, emotional well-being, school attendance, family involvement in crime, caregiver competence and involvements, and the nature of treatment and intervention. Early identification and multidisciplinary intervention are recommended for this subset of juvenile offenders. 2 tables, appended interview questionnaire, and 28 references