NCJ Number
148687
Date Published
1993
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examines the offending histories of two cohorts of juveniles (one born in 1962 and one born in 1972) in South Australia.
Abstract
Thus far the study has examined two principal measures of offending: prevalence of contact (the proportion of the age group that is registered as having a criminal justice contact) and the frequency of offending (the number of contacts recorded by those individuals in the young offenders database). The research is not yet complete since it has not examined the type of offense for which contact is recorded, nor has it examined the length of time over which contact has been recorded. Nevertheless, the available results are of interest, because they report the first Australian data on the prevalence and frequency of offending through the juvenile years. The data cover the period 1973 through 1991. Findings indicate that juvenile offenders are more likely to be apprehended for property crimes rather than violent crimes against the person. The proportion of juveniles among individuals apprehended has decreased in almost all "selected offense" categories used by the South Australian Police Department. The total number of juvenile appearances before Children's Aid Panels and the Children's Court was lower in 1990-91 than it was 5 years earlier. The analysis concludes that there is no justification, based on study results, for policies that focus narrowly on repeat offenders. There is apparently as much success potential for programs designed to reduce recorded offending within an age group. Approaches aimed at the entire cohort would focus on education, employment, and a variety of community-based initiatives. 19 tables and 9 references