NCJ Number
167561
Date Published
1994
Length
80 pages
Annotation
Virginia's Juvenile Offender Task Force met 12 times during the course of the 2-year study to review data, discuss policy concerns, and recommend a comprehensive legislative package to deal with serious juvenile offenders.
Abstract
Surveys were used to obtain national and statewide information. In addition, comprehensive searches of existing Virginia Department of Youth and Family Services' learning center files and Department of Corrections' Presentence Investigation Reports were conducted. The analyses pertained to the characteristics of the juvenile offender population in both the juvenile and adult systems, the nature of juvenile arrests and sentencing practices in juvenile and adult court districts throughout the State, the views and opinions of the judges and attorneys working with serious juvenile offenders in both the juvenile and adult court systems, and the way Virginia compares to other States in its handling of serious juvenile offenders with respect to policy and client impact. The second year of the study focused on necessary changes to the current Code of Virginia transfer and serious offender statutes and on the adequacy of post-dispositional alternatives for serious juvenile offenders. The recommended legislation outlined pertains to a transfer statute, a serious offender statute, victim notification statute, dispositions for delinquent children statute, places of confinement statute, and related statutes. Appended supplementary information