NCJ Number
224998
Date Published
January 1982
Length
140 pages
Annotation
Research was conducted to identify the nature of the juvenile problem in Belmont, MA, to describe the current police organization and response to this problem, and to observe how other youth-serving agencies relate to the police.
Abstract
Based upon the information gathered from police and court records, interviews, and field operations, staff members prepared preliminary recommendations on various issues related to the findings and the police handling of juveniles in Belmont. These included: the role of juvenile officers, prosecution of juvenile cases, letters of warning, schools, FIOs (field interrogation and/or observation cards), police response to groups of youths, diversion, police procedures manual for handling juveniles, and physical space and the DYS cell. These findings and recommendations resulted in the development of a manual on police procedures for handling juveniles and legal communities. The report and the manual both contain policy recommendations. Adoption of the recommendations will help to improve the performance of the Belmont Police Department’s handling of juveniles. With support from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Center for Criminal Justice of the Boston University School of Law and the Belmont Police Department set out to develop policies relating to the police handling of juveniles. In order to accomplish this, it was necessary to examine the nature of juvenile problems in Belmont, describe the existing police organization and its response to these problems, and examine how other youth-serving agencies relate to the police. Statutory and constitutional issues relevant to processing juveniles through the juvenile justice system were reviewed and data analyzed to determine current police practices. Tables and appendixes