Police Criteria in the Screening of Juvenile Offenders

• NCJ Number: 72476
• Journal: Wisconsin Sociologist Dated: (Winter 1966-Spring 1967) Pages: 21-32
• Author(s): R M Terry
• Date Published: 1967
• Length: 12 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: University of Wisconsin
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Slightly revised version of a paper read at the meetings of the Pacific Sociological Association, Vancouver, B.C. (Canada), April 1966

Annotation

This study examined the criteria used by the police in Racine, Wis., in screening juvenile offenders to discover whether there is any relationship between the type of disposition and certain characteristics of the offender or offense.

Abstract

Juvenile offenses were chosen since juvenile codes are characterized by a vagueness which permits nearly any misbehavior by a juvenile to be construed as delinquent behavior; thus what is and what is not delinquent behavior is dependent upon the definitions made by audiences (the police). Also, dispositions accorded juvenile offenders are not restricted by relatively fixed penal sanctions. Data were selected from 20 percent of juvenile records on file at the police department regarding offenses committed between 1950 and 1960 in Racine by juveniles, forming a sample of 3,148 offenses concerning which dispositions were made by the police. In terms of symbolic interaction theory, findings generally supported the notion that the kinds of action taken with respect to deviants is a function of the meanings attributed to the behavior as well as to the person and the circumstances (age, prior record of delinquent behavior, and the type of complainant). Most of the juveniles did not apparently develop deviant careers, perhaps because the police tended to release most offenders, thereby preventing their deviance from becoming highly visible in the community and contributing to the labeling process. Juveniles in Racine seemed to stand an excellent chance of avoiding juvenile court appearances and institutionalization if they refrained from more serious offenses, did not possess lengthy records of prior offenses, did not commit offenses after 14 years of age, and did not have the police or other official agency as the complainant in their offense. As the offender's ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex and area of residence were apparently not used as criteria, certain criminological literature dealing with the function of control agencies is called into question. By demonstrating that criteria use in the screening of juveniles by the police are identifiable, indications also point to the potential for solving research problems caused by incomplete official statistics, and police or court records. Several tables and 14 footnotes are provided.