NCJ Number
106770
Date Published
1982
Length
122 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the results of a 2-year community study that examined juvenile behavior and delinquency control within the sectors of family, education, work, recreation, religion, social work, mental health, prevention, police, courts, and corrections.
Abstract
An introduction traces three avenues of research, experimentation, and theoretical development: institutional treatment of adjudicated delinquents and alternatives to such dispositions; mobilization of communities to institute prevention and control programs for troubled youth; and strategies of organizational and community change to implement new policy initiatives. Concepts that guided the study's data collection and analysis are discussed, as are typologies of behavior, controls, and policies. The paper describes characteristics of the community studies, its youth, and youth-serving agencies. Data on the community's incidence of and response to delinquency were collected from 178 agency staff and 89 youths in 1981. For 1982, the study interviewed 140 staff and 104 youth. The results showed that youth in school were committing less crime in 1982 than in 1981 and were more involved in legitimate activities. The study found that adult social control was declining in the schools, but increasing in the correctional system. Little sign of advocacy was found anywhere. An examination of political forces confirmed these results: schools were subjected to draconian cutbacks while corrections continued to develop. Tables, footnotes, and references.