NCJ Number
138737
Date Published
1992
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This chapter reports and discusses selected findings from the first comprehensive public opinion survey on public attitudes toward juvenile crime.
Abstract
The national public opinion survey of attitudes toward juvenile crime was conducted during August and September 1991 by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. The sample consisted of 1,000 randomly selected adults, age 18 and over, who were living in randomly selected households throughout the contiguous United States. They were interviewed by telephone. The findings indicate that the public is concerned about juvenile crime. They believe that the volume of serious juvenile crime is increasing in their States, and they are fearful about being victimized; however, a large majority of the respondents do not believe that the volume of serious juvenile crime is increasing in their own neighborhoods. The public does not support the current call to abandon the historical mission and purpose of the juvenile court. The want the juvenile court to retain its emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation. Also, the public supports the provision of the same due process protections for juveniles as are accorded adults. The public also favors, however, the trying in adult court of juveniles accused of serious property, drug-related, and violent crimes. By a wide margin, the public favors a youth corrections system that would restrict the use of training schools and incarceration to juveniles who are violent and chronic offenders. In addition to supporting a community- based system, the public wants their juvenile crime-fighting dollars targeted toward these kinds of services. Survey questionnaire and 8 references