Background Paper for the Serious Juvenile Offender Initiative of the US Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

• NCJ Number: 86397
• Author(s): P S Alexander; C P Smith; T L Rooney
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 63 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: American Justice Institute
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This document discusses problems in defining serious juvenile crime, characteristics of serious juvenile offenders, their processing by the juvenile justice system, and alternative strategies for handling this population.

Abstract

Any analysis of serious juvenile crime is limited by disagreements over what constitutes a serious juvenile offense and who is a serious juvenile offender, as well as a lack of reliable and current information. With these problems in mind, the report uses Uniform Crime Reports and National Center for Juvenile Justice statistics to estimate the amount of serious juvenile crime. It also surveys the characteristics of these offenders, considering age, sex, race, geographic distribution, delinquent history, gang involvement, victim characteristics, use of weapons, substance abuse, and dispositions. Prevention-oriented programs are reviewed, as are current responses from police, courts, corrections, and State legislatures to the serious juvenile offender. For example, some police departments target hardcore juvenile offenders, courts have imposed harsher sentences, and corrections typically places them in an institution. Innovative correctional approaches are described, particularly community-based projects. Because evaluations of delinquency prevention and control programs have many methodological problems and political and economic constraints, the paper suggests ways to upgrade evaluations. Finally, it focuses on the need for new programs, citing the disproportionate amount of crime committed by serious juvenile offenders and the ineffectiveness of incarceration. The merits of institutional versus community-based programs, staffing requirements, and intensive treatment programs are assessed. Strategy recommendations for handling the serious juvenile offender emphasize improved training opportunities, availability of a wide range of programs, and a problem-solving, trial-and-error attitude. The appendixes contain statistical tables and 49 references.