NCJ Number
204322
Date Published
January 2002
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This document discusses current trends in juvenile transfer to adult criminal court in Florida.
Abstract
Current research shows that youth that receive sanctions and rehabilitation in Florida’s juvenile justice system have a lower rate of recidivism than their counterparts that are transferred to adult criminal court. Transferred youth were more likely to recidivate than youth retained in the juvenile system and recidivated at a faster rate, with more serous offenses, and with a greater number of offenses. The researchers were asked to take a closer look at offender and offense characteristics that would enable them to match youth retained in the juvenile system to those that had been transferred to adult criminal court more accurately. Using more specific criteria, the researchers refined that sample to 315 “best-matched” pairs. The results showed that 49 percent of the youth transferred recidivated, compared with 37 percent of those that remained in the juvenile justice system. The researchers also examined the 98 pairs in which both youth re-offended. The transferred youth committed a more serious felony or violent crime, while in 24 percent of the pairs the youth retained in the juvenile system committed a more serious crime. The findings of this study, the increase in deep-end capacity and specialized treatment, the continuing improvement of success rates, and the dramatic decline in the number of juveniles transferred to the adult system are evidence that Florida’s juvenile justice system is gaining credibility among prosecutors and judges as an appropriate place to rehabilitate serious juvenile offenders.