NCJ Number
220129
Date Published
2006
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report outlines the four core protection requirements under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP), issues related to the State of North Carolina’s compliance and noncompliance with these core protection requirements, and recommendations for achieving full compliance in the future.
Abstract
It will be necessary to consider some modifications to existing North Carolina General Statutes and policies in order to achieve full compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP). These modifications are presented in four recommendations and include: (1) continue examining the possibilities of changing the State’s age of criminal responsibility to 18 years old; (2) modify underage alcohol possession and underage alcohol purchase offenses to be non-detainable misdemeanors; (3) modify existing juvenile code to limit the amount of time an accused status offender can be held; and (4) modify G.S. & 7B-1900 to be consistent with the JJDP Act regulations. The JJDP Act passed in 1974, protects juveniles in the juvenile justice system from inappropriate placement and from both physical and psychological harm. The Act established four core protection requirements to include the (1) deinstitutionalization of status offenders (DSO), (2) separation of juvenile and adult offenders (separation), (3) removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups (jail removal), and (4) reduction of disproportionate minority contact (DMC), where it exists. Meeting these core protections is essential to creating a fair, consistent, and effective juvenile justice system that advances the goals of the JJDP Act. This report outlines these four core protection requirements, incidents of noncompliance under each of these requirements, and recommendations to achieve full compliance of core protection requirements.