NCJ Number
171480
Date Published
1998
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This handbook is designed to show how changes made by the Texas Legislature in 1995 and 1997 assist local officials in addressing juvenile crime in their communities.
Abstract
It first provides a basic explanation of the Texas juvenile justice system. In tracing the current process for handling juvenile offenders, the handbook begins with a juvenile's initial contact with a law enforcement agency, followed by a disposition without referral to juvenile court, referral to a first-offender program, referral to juvenile court, detention awaiting trial, the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, and charging and trying a juvenile in the juvenile court. Other stages in processing are sentencing, dispositions under the progressive sanctions guidelines, and events after the disposition hearing. The second section of the handbook reviews statutory and court-approved tools for combating juvenile crime. An overview of teen curfews addresses the Dallas curfew ordinance, exceptions under this ordinance, and issues for cities that are considering curfews. A section on options for disposition of Juvenile offenses profiles teen court, restitution, and the suspension of driver's licenses. Other tools for countering juvenile crime are holding parents accountable for the behavior of their children, strategies for reducing gang activity, the use of the Drug-Free Zone Act, holding property owners liable for criminal activity on their property, and the use of crime control and prevention districts. Juvenile Crime Intervention Division resources are listed.