NCJ Number
95594
Date Published
1984
Length
30 pages
Annotation
Substantive and procedural laws pertaining to juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and dependent and neglected children are examined.
Abstract
In 1981, juveniles accounted for 19.3 percent of all arrests for violent crime and 40.2 percent of all arrests for property crime, although they comprised only about 14 percent of the total population. Because of these statistics, a growing number of juvenile cases are being tried in adult courts. For example, in New York, a 13-year-old juvenile who commits a serious felony may be tried as an adult. Juveniles are entitled to the following procedural safeguards at the adjudicatory stage: notice of the charges, right to counsel, right to confrontation and cross-examination, and privilege against self-incrimination. Because there are few statutory guidelines for appropriate dispositions, juvenile judges may subjectively decide penalties for various offenses. Since juveniles are supposed to be incarcerated for rehabilitative purposes, juvenile institutions must provide treatment rather than punishment. If this right to treatment is to be effective, adequate treatment guidelines must be formulated and their implementation in institutions ensured through effective supervision and monitoring. Some changes are occurring in the criminal justice system's response to status offenders. Most States have not eliminated the juvenile court's jurisdiction over these offenders; however, legislatures have clarified the language in the statutes. Laws related to neglected and dependent children have also been made more specific. One table is included.