NCJ Number
121814
Date Published
Unknown
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study assesses the impact of various juvenile court interventions on serious juvenile offenders in the Second District Juvenile Court of Utah, serving the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.
Abstract
The Second District Juvenile Court's policy of decarceration and community-based corrections provided a broad range of intervention strategies for analysis and evaluation. The study tested the effects of several court interventions, including short-term and long-term secure confinement, community-based placements, and three styles of probation supervision during an 18-month period beginning in 1983. A classic experimental design was used for those youth placed on probation, with random assignment to one of three experimental models of probation. Subjects of the study were the most serious juvenile offenders processed through the court. The study found that the court makes appropriate sentencing decisions commensurate with the needs of the juvenile and community safety. Data show that youth with lengthy arrest records can be safely returned to the community after relatively short periods of confinement under a well-funded community corrections program. Although the findings on probation intervention were disappointing, they must be viewed in the context of the offense careers of probationers in this court. 2 tables, 3 exhibits.