NCJ Number
84507
Date Published
1982
Length
372 pages
Annotation
Juveniles' legal rights and responsibilities have been dramatically altered by court decisions and legislative actions. This text concentrates on juvenile rights under the law, police relations with juvenile offenders and victims, and the changing treatment of juveniles by courts and corrections.
Abstract
The authors review court decisions (In re Gault, In re Winship, etc.) that grant juveniles the same rights as adults during arrest, interrogation, and trial. An extensive discussion of labeling theory points out its implications for the juvenile justice system and the controversies it has aroused. The text illustrates the differing police roles envisioned by the National Advisory Commission standards and the Institute of Judicial Administration/American Bar Association joint standards. In addition, it describes traditional police organizational models and innovative models such as team policing. The operations of juvenile specialists and juvenile units are discussed as they apply to truants, incorrigibles, runaways, and escapees. The authors explore such delinquency prevention strategies as diversion, deterrence, and intervention as well as police interviewing techniques, State juvenile programs, and reporting and recordkeeping. The behavior of juvenile drug abusers, sex offenses juveniles may fall prey to, categories of youth suicide, and vandalism trends are described. A special section is devoted to the sexual exploitation of children. Chapter references, an index, and a bibliography of about 200 citations are supplied.