NCJ Number
140627
Date Published
1993
Length
232 pages
Annotation
This review of the juvenile justice system in the United States addresses the nature of delinquency, juvenile crime trends, juvenile delinquency factors, the history of juvenile justice, due process for juveniles, criminal procedure for juveniles, new constitutional issues for juveniles, stages of the juvenile justice system, corrections and delinquency prevention, and the future of juvenile justice.
Abstract
The three themes on which this book is based enlighten the continuing debate over what to do about juvenile delinquency. First it demonstrates that virtually every juvenile in the United States, and indeed the world, has broken the law at one time or another. A degree of understanding and compassion should therefore accompany our attitudes toward juvenile delinquency. A second theme of the book focuses on the cyclical changes in the philosophy toward juvenile delinquents over the years. The author shows that prior to the creation of the juvenile justice system, juveniles and adults were treated the same under law. At the turn of the century, however, the juvenile justice system was created to provide a more rehabilitative and benevolent regime for juveniles. Abuses of this treatment ideal in the 1950's and 1960's, however, led to greater legal protections for juveniles that paralleled those for adults. Now there is a distinct national trend toward treating juveniles in the same manner as adults under law. The implications of these shifts in the national outlook toward delinquency treatment and prevention are examined in terms of their cause and effect on law, policy, and the future of delinquency. A third theme is the predicted impact of current trends for the future. There are 10 short opinion pieces on the future of juvenile justice at the end of each chapter. 260 references and a subject index