NCJ Number
113444
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (April 1988) Pages: 70-79
Date Published
1988
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Arguing that chronic juvenile offenders commit a majority of serious crimes, Alfred Regnery, the Administrator of the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in 1985, urged that such offenders be targeted for severe punishment, notably incapacitation, to deter and prevent additional crime. This approach will not be effective, since it fails to address the sociological, particularly familial, factors in juvenile crime.
Abstract
Other policies proposed by Regnery are the cessation of the sealing of juvenile court records when they become adults, reduction in the distinction between juvenile and adult criminals, and experimentation with local programs for controlling juvenile crime. There is no empirical evidence that punitiveness and incapacitation deter juvenile crime. A more fruitful approach is to target the debilitating interpersonal relationships of chronic juvenile offenders, notably the family as the primary socialization agent. Rather than getting tough with the poor and minorities, the Federal Government should model and support policies that create and reinforce social structures that will reduce or inhibit crime. For Part II, Mr. Regnery's response to this critique, see NCJ-113445. 8-item bibliography.