NCJ Number
74571
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 28 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1980) Pages: 12,14-15,22-26,30-32,34-41
Date Published
1980
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Five journal articles discuss problems and activities relating to youth, including a youth volunteer corps in New Jersey, the New York street gangs of the 1970's, determination of the status of juvenile offenders, school presentaions about policing, and the role of police in the area of juvenile runaways.
Abstract
The first article describes the Ocean Township Youth Volunteer Corps (New Jersey), which focuses on juveniles who are borderline or in trouble with the police; it allows them to volunteer their services to the community as an act of restitution. Assigned to worksites around the community, the youths serve up to 25 hours and mainly do manual labor. The second article deals with the New York Street gangs of the 1970's. The origins, recruitment, and rituals of the gangs are described. Gang activities were particularly violent during the 1970's. During 1970-1974, gangs were responsible for 109 homicides, and in 1976, 3 members of a street gang set fire to a South Bronx social club, killing 25 people. Gangs were also criminally active in illicit sex and other sex crimes, robbery, burglary, extortion, and shakedowns. The third article discusses alternatives available to police officers for those juveniles detained for offenses that would not be cause for arrest if they were adults. Another article suggests that police officers should take every available opportunity to explain their work to children and the general public, especially by demonstrating police equipment. The final article examines the scope and definition of runaways, and offers guidelines for police officers to increase their effectiveness in working with juvenile runaways. Photographs are provided.