NCJ Number
156950
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1995) Pages: 37-42
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study tracked a sample of juvenile offenders certified to adult court with a noncertified adjudicated sample of juvenile felony offenders to determine whether those certified as adults were treated more severely by the criminal justice system.
Abstract
Two groups of juveniles in St. Louis were compared in terms of age at time of offense, race, prior number of referrals to the court, seriousness of the present referral, and case disposition. The results indicate an increase in the use of certification to adult court in St. Louis. Juvenile offenders waived to adult court tended to be older, have had more prior referrals to juvenile court, and have been previously certified than offenders adjudicated in juvenile court. While juvenile cases were processed more quickly than those referred to adult court, juvenile offenders sentenced in the former were more likely to be placed on probation or institutionalized than those processed in adult court (49.5 percent versus 17 percent, and 20.7 percent versus 6.3 percent, respectively). 4 tables and 12 references