NCJ Number
59946
Journal
Trial Volume: 15 Dated: (JANUARY 1979) Pages: 18-21,58
Date Published
1979
Length
5 pages
Annotation
THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF JUVENILE CRIME, AND THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM, ARE EXAMINED CRITICALLY, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE REFORMS EMBODIED IN THE 1974 JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT.
Abstract
IN 1976, ONE-QUARTER OF THOSE ARRESTED IN THE UNITED STATES WERE JUVENILES; ARRESTS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES COMPRISED LESS THAN 1 PERCENT OF ALL ARRESTS FOR BOTH JUVENILES AND ADULTS. JUVENILE ARRESTS FOR VIOLENT CRIME INCREASED 98 PERCENT BETWEEN 1967 AND 1976, BUT MOST OF THE INCREASE WAS IN THE FIRST 5 YEARS. RECENTLY, THE ARREST RATE SEEMS TO HAVE DROPPED SLIGHTLY. JUVENILES ARE MORE LIKELY THAN ADULTS TO BE THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENT CRIME. RECENT STUDIES HAVE INDICATED THAT DELINQUENTS COME FROM ALL RACIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC GROUPS, AND THAT PEER GROUP PRESSURE, THE COMMUNITY CONTEXT, AND POOR RELATIONSHIPS WITH AUTHORITY FIGURES ARE IMPORTANT CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY. A SMALL PROPORTION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS ACCOUNT FOR A LARGE PROPORTION OF SERIOUS CRIME, BUT EFFORTS TO PREDICT DELINQUENCY HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. MASSACHUSETTS'S REPLACEMENT OF TRADITIONAL INCARCERATION WITH COMMUNITY-BASED ALTERNATIVES HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. THE 1974 JJDPA EXPANDED THIS REFORM BY FOSTERING DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PROGRAMS, BY DIVERTING MORE JUVENILES FROM THE JUVENILE JUSTICE PROCESS, AND WITH PROVISION OF ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES. AN ADDITIONAL AREA IN WHICH REFORM IS NEEDED IS SENTENCING, WHERE MODEL STANDARDS WOULD BE DESIRABLE. OVERALL, THE JDDPA HAS SPURRED A MUCH NEEDED REASSESSMENT OF THE RATIONALE FOR INSTITUTIONALIZATION, WHICH HAS TOO OFTEN BEEN THE PREFERRED TREATMENT OF DELINQUENTS. THE AUTHOR IS THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION OF THE U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)