NCJ Number
145104
Date Published
1993
Length
179 pages
Annotation
Based on empirical and theoretical research and using case examples, this volume examines urban juvenile delinquency as it has developed in the United States.
Abstract
The authors consider delinquency within the framework of social relations, manners, and ways or urban life. They examine how juvenile delinquency represents a form of bad manners and impaired social relations that have emerged as a fractured way of coping with contemporary city living. The analysis suggests that exposing youths to good role models is an inadequate approach to preventing or addressing juvenile delinquency, because this approach overlooks the issue of the juvenile's social relations. The discussion also addresses the principle of subsidiarity, under which power and authority related to social action should be decentralized as far as the general welfare will permit. The authors suggest that this principle be considered in juvenile delinquency policymaking, except that the focus should be more on community action than on individual action. They conclude that change is possible and that classroom teachers and other adults have a crucial role. The chapter titles use theatrical terms such as setting, supporting cast, protagonist, plot, and audience as a framework for the analysis. Subject and author indexes and 134 references