Explaining Variation In Juvenile Punishment

This research monograph provides a comparative analysis of juvenile court outcomes, exploring the influence of contextual factors on juvenile punishment across systems and communities. In doing so, it investigates whether, how, and to what extent macro-social context influences variation in juvenile punishment. The contextual hypotheses under investigation evaluate three prominent macro-sociall theoretical approaches: the conflict-oriented perspective of community threat, the consensus-oriented perspective of social disorganization, and the organizational perspective of the political economy of the juvenile court. Using multilevel modeling techniques, the study investigates these macro-social influences on juvenile justice outcomes across nearly 500 counties in seven states—Alabama, Connecticut, Missouri, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Findings suggest that the contextual indicators under investigation did not explain variation in juvenile court punishment across communities and systems, and the study proposes several implications for future research and policy. This monograph is essential reading for scholars of juvenile justice system impact and reform as well as practitioners engaged in youth policy and juvenile justice work. It is unique in taking a comparative perspective that acknowledges that there is no one juvenile justice system in the United States, but many such systems.

The book deals with three interconnected themes. The first is the dascription of main features of juvenile criminal justice in such diverse countries as Thailand, China, Germany, France, and England. The second is the argument that ecucation is the essential principle of any juvenile delinquency justice systemn, and that the most important part of education must be moral instruction of young offenders. The third theme of the book is that warld religiong are indispensable for carrying out successful educational programs directed towards the formation of good conscince among young people. Three religious traditions are explored: Buddhism, Confu - cianism, and Christianlty. The presentation of the educational poten - tial of the world religions draws upon the axperience of the author as a volunteer teacher in a Thai juvenile correction institution.

This book takes a comprehensive, analytic approach to understanding Juvenile Risk and Needs Assessment (JRNA), covering elements relevant to how the practice affects youths’ cases and the juvenile justice system. The work draws on both analysis of the extensive research on risk and needs assessment in the juvenile justice system as well as data from the authors’ recent work in the area. Authors Sullivan and Childs have extensive experience in teaching about and doing research on the juvenile justice system, including multiple studies on juvenile risk and needs assessment tools and their implementation. This expansive, integrative book leaves readers with a realistic sense of "where things stand" on the theory, research, policy, and practice of JRNA. By bringing together existing ideas and assessing them in depth, it identifies possible future paths and sparks ideas for improving the juvenile justice response to delinquent and at-risk youths. Juvenile Risk and Needs Assessment is essential reading for scholars of juvenile justice system impact and reform as well as practitioners engaged in youth and juvenile justice work ranging from the preventive to the rehabilitative stages.

This book places youth violence within a Routine Activity Ecological Framework. Youth violence, specifically youth exposure to community violence and youth perpetration of violent behaviors, occur within various contexts. Ahlin and Antunes situate their discussion of youth violence within an ecological framework, identifying how it is nested within four mesosystem layers: community, family, peers and schools, and youth characteristics. Contextualized using an ecological framework, the Routine Activity Theory and Lifestyles perspective (RAT/LS) are well suited to guide an examination of youth violence risk and protective factors across the four layers. Drawing on scholarship that explores predictors and consequences of youth violence, the authors apply RAT/LS theory to explain how community, family, peers, schools, and youth characteristics influence youth behavior. Each layer of the ecological framework unfolds to reveal the latest scholarship and contextualizes how concepts of RAT/LS, specifically the motivated offender, target suitability, and guardianship, can be applied at each level. This book also highlights the mechanisms and processes that contribute to youth exposure to and involvement in violence by exploring factors examined in the literature as protective and risk factors of youth violence. Youth violence occurs in context, and, as such, the understanding of multilevel predictors and preventive measures against it can be situated within an RAT/LS ecological framework. This work links theory to extant research. Ahlin and Antunes demonstrate how knowledge of youth violence can be used to develop a robust theoretical foundation that can inform policy to improve neighborhoods and youth experiences within their communities, families, and peers and within their schools while acknowledging the importance of individual characteristics. This monograph is essential reading for those interested in youth violence, juvenile delinquency, and juvenile justice research and anyone dedicated to preventing crime among youths.

Several million reported and unreported delinquent acts take place each year. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, juvenile delinquency, acting-out and oppositional behavior, illegal drugs, guns, and youth violence are pervasive throughout American society. Juvenile Justice Sourcebook is the first comprehensive volume devoted exclusively to the biopsychosocial assessment, police and juvenile court processing, and institutional and community-based treatment and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. The overriding objective of this sourcebook is to trace the tremendous progress achieved toward resolving juvenile justice issues, dilemmas, and controversies, while providing futuristic visions for the juvenile justice field. Each chapter, authored by preeminent expert practitioners and researchers, explores topics ranging from innovative counseling and multisystemic programs, to restorative justice, to rehabilitation programs such as aggression replacement training, wilderness programs, family treatment, substance abuse treatment, restitution, and aftercare. This volume, grounded in history and exhaustive research, presents the latest evidence-based policies, programs, and innovative treatment alternatives. Examining the entire juvenile justice system, including juvenile law, policies, practices, and research, the Juvenile Justice Sourcebook will be invaluable to all juvenile justice practitioners, policy analysts, researchers, and students.

The juvenile justice system is a multifaceted entity that continually changes under the influence of decisions, policies, and laws. The all new Fourth Edition of Juvenile Justice: A Social, Historical, and Legal Perspective, offers readers a clear and comprehensive look at exaclty what it is and how it works. Reader friendly and up-to-date, this text unravels the complexities of the juvenile justice system by exploring the history, theory, and components of the juvenile justice process and how they relate.

This comprehensive reference work presents an in-depth analysis of juvenile justice systems across the world. The second edition of this Handbook has been updated with 13 new chapters, now covering a total of 34 countries, across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East from an international and comparative perspective. The International Handbook of Juvenile Justice is the result of research conducted by a group of outstanding scholars working in the field of juvenile justice. It reflects a collective concern about trends in juvenile justice over the past two decades, trends that have begun to blur the difference between criminal and juvenile justice. Also new to the second edition, each chapter is formatted to increase the comparative aspect of the book, highlighting: · The legal status of juveniles · Age of majority · The country’s stance toward the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child · Trends in juvenile crime over the period 2004-2014 · Causes of juvenile crime · Policing and juveniles · Courts and juveniles · Custodial rules for juveniles (detention, prison, mixing juveniles with adults) · Alternative sanctions for juveniles: home confinement, restorative justice, restitution, etc. · Differences in treatment of boys and girls This seminal work highlights similarities and differences between the various systems, and will be an important reference for researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly interested in juvenile delinquency and youth crime, as well as related disciplines like sociology, social work, and public policy.