Discretion and Dispositional Alternatives in Police Handling of Juvenile Cases

• NCJ Number: 75217
• Author(s): K D Knodle
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 30 pages
• Corporate Author: Southern Illinois University Ctr for the Study of Crime, Delinquency, and Corrections
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Law Enforcement Monograph Series

Annotation

Police methods and procedures in handling juvenile crime are examined, with emphasis on the use of police discretion, and some of the problems associated with police processing of juveniles are noted.

Abstract

The juvenile justice system is based on the philosophy of changing deviant juvenile behavior while avoiding the stigmatization of extensive involvement with the criminal justice system. Police serve this end by using discretion to determine whether a juvenile encounter should result in a juvenile court proceeding or should be handled in a less formal manner through the juvenile's family or appropriate social agencies. Options available to police upon suspecting a juvenile of an illegal act include questioning/investigation only, release with warning, release with official report, and referral to a juvenile officer. Should a juvenile be referred to a juvenile officer, the officer conducts an investigation, a parental interview, and counseling. The officer may then render one of the following dispositions which do not involve the juvenile court: (1) release to parents with warning, (2) release to parents with official report, (3) release and referral to private community agency, or (4) release and referral to public social welfare agency. Should the officer refer the juvenile to juvenile court, the options are referral without detention and referral with detention. Factors considered in disposition are the juvenile's age, the severity of the offense, prior contact with the police, the juvenile's attitude, the juvenile's need for professional assistance, the ability of the child's parents to deal with the problem behavior, and the rights of the complainant-victim. Problems associated with police disposition of juvenile cases are presumption of guilt without formal proceedings and police subjectivity in dealing with various types of juveniles. Despite the problems associated with police diversion, when proceedings are handled with objectivity and empathy by well-trained officers, the juvenile and the community are served by preventing a juvenile from having deep involvement with the criminal justice system. Footnotes and a bibliography listing 11 references are provided.