NCJ Number
165714
Journal
Journal of Security Administration Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: (June-July 1996) Pages: 34-44
Date Published
1996
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A review of the literature on school discipline and juvenile crime reveals that the United States has experienced many transitions, crime trends, and school disturbance characteristics between 1945 and 1969.
Abstract
The national goals adopted in 1989 include making every school free of drugs and violence and one with a disciplined setting conducive to learning. However, juvenile delinquency dates to the beginning of recorded history. In the colonial era disobedient children were tied to a whipping post and beaten. No distinct category for juvenile delinquency existed in the 18th century. In the 19th century people exhibited fear and pessimism regarding delinquent behavior among youth. Discipline problems were a daily occurrence in schools. Currently, 100,000 youth take a gun to school each day, and 160,000 will miss school because of fear of injury. Eighth grade students were those most often threatened with a weapon in 1991. However, most violent incidents occur outside the school building. Schools have increasingly established security programs. Truancy for children and robbery for adults characterized the types of crimes occurring in the United States before 1945. Major shifts did in criminal activity did not occur until the 1960's, which became a time of societal upheaval. Since the 1980's and early 1990's, the juvenile court has taken a more retributive approach similar to that in the adult criminal justice system. The 1967 presidential task force reported that juvenile delinquency was the most important crime problem in the United States.