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Chapter 9: Juvenile Justice

Chapter 9: Juvenile Justice. Overview of Juvenile Justice. The concepts of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice are of recent origin. The phrase juvenile justice system is used to refer to the agencies and processes responsible for the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency.

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Chapter 9: Juvenile Justice

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  1. Chapter 9:Juvenile Justice

  2. Overview of Juvenile Justice • The concepts of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice are of recent origin. • The phrase juvenile justice system is used to refer to the agencies and processes responsible for the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency. •  The most important stages of the juvenile justice process are: • referrals (usually by police) • Intake • Adjudication • Disposition.

  3. The History of Race and Juvenile Justice • In Colonial era, slave owners were not tolerant of misbehavior among their young slaves • In the North, increasing urbanization, industrialization, and immigration, caused growing concern about youth crime. • As early as 1819, concerned citizens in New York City formed the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, which later became known as the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents. • Early to mid 1800s house of refuges for Whites and Black youth opened across the country

  4. Child Savers • Child savers were activists comprised of middle and upper-class females and others • Child savers were concerned with the plight of poor, vagrant, and neglected children • Youth facilities were originally opened in order to separate delinquents from adults and the poor conditions found in prisons • Like White child savers, the early Black child savers were initially women of a higher social class • Black child savers faced a system that was unwilling to invest in the rehabilitation of Black youth • Historically Black Colleges were at the forefront of the movement to help Black youth

  5. Juvenile Courts • The juvenile court was designed to handle the special needs of children not only in juvenile facilities but in court as well. • By the mid-1930s, most states had legislated some form of juvenile courts. • Very little information is available about the treatment of Black and minority youth in these courts prior to the 1980s.

  6. Juvenile Crime and Victimization • Concern is related to the disproportionate number of youth, especially Black and other minority youth, who are arrested and confined. • Available helps us understand juvenile participation in crime as arrestees, victims, and those who are processed in the juvenile justice system. • Juvenile arrests have fluctuated over time.

  7. Juvenile Crime and Victimization, cont.

  8. Juvenile Crime and Victimization, cont. • The majority of arrestees are males, although the number of female arrestees has increased in recent years • Many Americans mistakenly believe that minority youth commit most delinquency • 67.1% of arrests (Whites) • 30.3% of arrests (Blacks) • Misinformed views are dispensed by the news media, and because of their disproportionate involvement in violent crimes • 51% of violent crimes (Blacks) • 66% of arrests for property crime (Whites)

  9. Juvenile Crime and Victimization, cont. • Homicide was the fourth leading cause of death for children ages 1–11 in 2002. • The NCVS includes reported: Violent victimizations • rape, • sexual assault, • robbery, • aggravated assault • simple assault

  10. Juvenile Crime and Victimization, cont. Property victimizations • Attempted and completed theft • Household burglary • Motor vehicle theft • Youth 16 to 19 years of age had the highest prevalence rate for sexual assault victimizations.

  11. Juvenile Crime and Victimization, cont. • Violent victimization is related to individual, family and community characteristics. • A youth’s risk of being a violent crime victim is most likely due to family and community characteristics, not race. • Juveniles are as likely to be victims of suicide as they are to be victims of homicide. • More than half of all victims of child maltreatment were white. • Drug and alcohol use are more common among juvenile offenders than among students.

  12. Juvenile Court Statistics • Every year juvenile courts send data that results in the publication of juvenile court statistics • In 2004, 1.66 million delinquency cases • Most cases were property offenses • Public order offenses were next • Obstruction of justice • Disorderly conduct • Weapons offenses • Delinquency cases declined from 1995 to 2004 • Whites were involved in 2/3 of the cases • There were 159,400 status offenses in 2004 • Most of these were for truancy or liquor law violations

  13. Juvenile Court Statistics, cont.

  14. Disproportionate Minority Contact • Disproportionate minority confinement/contact (DMC) refers to the problem of overrepresentation of minority youth at different stages in the juvenile justice system. • For some youth, delinquency and crime are accepted behaviors. • The “street factor” often requires involvement in crime to prove one’s toughness; violence is viewed favorably, often as a way of gaining status.

  15. Disproportionate Minority Contact, cont. • The U.S. Congress formerly addressed DMC in 1988 by amending the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974 • DMC Process involves: • Assigning organizational responsibility for issue • Identifying the extent of DMC • Assessing the reasons for DMC, if it exists • Developing an intervention plan for DMC • Evaluating strategies for DMC • Monitoring DMC trends

  16. Disproportionate Minority Contact, cont. • There are several challenges to reducing DMC that include: • Lack of resources • Inadequate information systems • Developing intervention strategies • Transitioning from planning (state) to implementation (local).

  17. Minority Female Delinquency • Girls’ delinquency is not a new phenomenon, although it receives much more attention today than in the past. • It is important to keep in mind that violent crimes are a small portion of youth arrests. • Youth arrests have declined in recent years, and more males than females are arrested for delinquency

  18. Minority Female Delinquency, cont. • While the extent of female delinquency is less than male delinquency, patterns of behavior and risk factors for both groups are quite similar. • We do know that according to the most recent data available, minority females comprise a disproportionate share of females in residential placement.

  19. Juveniles, Race, and the Death Penalty • Youngest person executed in the United States was 10-year old James Arcene who was a Cherokee • Since the second World War, the only juvenile that has been executed was 14-year old George Stinney who was African American • Today there are no juveniles under sentence of death as a result of the 2005 US Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons. • All juveniles who receive death sentences have been tried as adults, and usually have committed homicide.

  20. Juveniles, Race, and the Death Penalty, cont. • Throughout U.S. history, there have been 12 known cases where juveniles were executed for crimes committed before the age of 14. • The first juvenile executed in the United States was Thomas Graunger, executed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for committing the crime of bestiality when he was 16.

  21. Delinquency Prevention • The federal government has provided billions of dollars to state and local governments to assist them in their efforts to prevent crime. • Monies spent on prevention is not equal to monies spent on punishment • Get tough movement also impacted the juvenile justice system • It is also important to know what works in delinquency prevention in any community where there is a heightened problem of: • Fear • Violence • Victimization

  22. Delinquency Prevention, cont. • What programs do not work? • Zero tolerance policies • Curfew laws • Punishment without treatment and rehab • Removal of youth from their families and communities • Shock incarceration • Waiving/transferring juvenile to the adult system • Incarceration of juveniles into adult prisons

  23. Delinquency Prevention, cont. • Identifying programs for minority youth that work is difficult • Some of the more promising ones include: • Boys & Girls Club of America mentoring programs • Culturally specific drug programs • Violence prevention programs that consider problem- an emotion-focused coping strategies • Culturally specific prevention programs have had mixed results

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