NCJ Number
146321
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 40 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1994) Pages: 96- 104
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article reports the findings of a study of the deterrent effect of Idaho's legislative waiver statute which mandates automatic transfer of some serious juvenile offenders to criminal court. The study concluded that the statute has not deterred violent juvenile crime.
Abstract
Most States have a procedure for transferring juvenile offenders to adult criminal court. The procedure known as judicial waiver requires the juvenile court judge to make a transfer determination following a waiver hearing. Growing disillusionment with the juvenile justice system has led some States to enact legislative waiver statutes which remove judicial discretion and provide for mandatory transfer of certain juveniles accused of statutorily specified crimes to criminal court. These statutes are based in part on the need for retribution and deterrence of serious juvenile offenders. This study evaluated the success of Idaho's 1981 revised legislative waiver statute in deterring violent juvenile crime. Crime data was analyzed using a time series design. The years in the time series included the five years prior to enactment of the legislative waiver statute and the five years subsequent to enactment. Montana and Wyoming were used as comparison States. Researchers concluded that Idaho's statute has had no deterrent effect on juvenile violent crime. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed. 1 table