NCJ Number
91042
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1983) Pages: 365-380
Date Published
1983
Length
16 pages
Annotation
A longitudinal comparative analysis of the offense careers of 2,003 juveniles appearing before the Wayne County Juvenile Court in Detroit, Mich. provides evidence that status offenders differ from other delinquents -- they are less likely to recidivate, their offense careers are different, and the seriousness of their careers may be aggravated by legal processing.
Abstract
The project included all juveniles whose first official court appearance occurred between January and December 1973, studying their subsequent offense careers through December 1977 or until the youths reached 17 years of age. It used reappearance for alleged delinquent acts as a measure of offender careers and controlled for the variables of sex, age, race, and risk. Of the sample, 57.5 percent were charged with felonies, 34.1 percent with status offenses, and 8.4 percent with misdemeanors. Overall, 42.8 percent had at least one additional court appearance, but the proportions of recidivists were similar in all offense groups. The problem status offenders presented to the court appeared to decrease over time, while that represented by youths charged with a felony increased slightly. Status offenders threatened society considerably less than the other groups. Approximately 9 out of 10 repeat offenses for the felony and misdemeanor groups were for additional felonies or misdemeanors, but less than half the status offenders' subsequent offenses were criminal. Comparisions also suggest that delinquent behavior may partly reflect the deleterious effects of labeling. For youths initially charged with a status offense who reappeared in court, subsequent court contact was associated with more serious misconduct. The findings support arguments for revising status offense statutes or removing status offenders from the juvenile court's jurisdiction. Tables and 20 footnotes are provided.