Studies In Juvenile Delinquency

Even though youth crime rates have fallen since the mid-1990s, public fear and political rhetoric over the issue have heightened. The Columbine shootings and other sensational incidents add to the furor. Often overlooked are the underlying problems of child poverty, social disadvantage, and the pitfalls inherent to adolescent decisionmaking that contribute to youth crime. From a policy standpoint, adolescent offenders are caught in the crossfire between nurturance of youth and punishment of criminals, between rehabilitation and "get tough" pronouncements. In the midst of this emotional debate, the National Research Council's Panel on Juvenile Crime steps forward with an authoritative review of the best available data and analysis. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents recommendations for addressing the many aspects of America's youth crime problem. This timely release discusses patterns and trends in crimes by children and adolescentsâ€"trends revealed by arrest data, victim reports, and other sources; youth crime within general crime; and race and sex disparities. The book explores desistanceâ€"the probability that delinquency or criminal activities decrease with ageâ€"and evaluates different approaches to predicting future crime rates. Why do young people turn to delinquency? Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents what we know and what we urgently need to find out about contributing factors, ranging from prenatal care, differences in temperament, and family influences to the role of peer relationships, the impact of the school policies toward delinquency, and the broader influences of the neighborhood and community. Equally important, this book examines a range of solutions: Prevention and intervention efforts directed to individuals, peer groups, and families, as well as day care-, school- and community-based initiatives. Intervention within the juvenile justice system. Role of the police. Processing and detention of youth offenders. Transferring youths to the adult judicial system. Residential placement of juveniles. The book includes background on the American juvenile court system, useful comparisons with the juvenile justice systems of other nations, and other important information for assessing this problem.

This latest volume in the Cambridge Criminal Justice Series focuses upon young adults and their treatment in the criminal justice system. The subject is very topical because there is increasing evidence that a rigid distinction between ‘youth’ and ‘adulthood’ is not appropriate in modern societies. For example, important developmental tasks such as finishing one’s education, finding regular work and the foundation of one’s own family are now completed later than in former times; neuropsychological brain functions are still developing beyond age 18; and desistance from criminal offending occurs most rapidly in early adulthood. Despite such evidence, the United Kingdom and other countries have largely neglected policies for young adult offenders in comparison with young people under 18. Although there seems to be no general transnational solution for this problem, there is a clear need for differentiation. This book brings together leading authorities in the field to analyse theoretical, empirical and policy issues relating to this neglected group of people, exploring different approaches to both crime prevention and offender treatment. It will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and policy makers in the fields of criminology, criminal justice, prisons, probation, forensic psychology and psychiatry, sociology, education and social work.

This book presents the first comprehensive analysis of the second International Self-Report Delinquency study (ISRD-2). An earlier volume, Juvenile Delinquency in Europe and Beyond (Springer, 2010) focused mainly on the findings with regard to delinquency, victimization and substance use in each of the individual participating ISRD-2 countries. The Many Faces of Youth Crime is based on analysis of the merged data set and has a number of unique features:  The analyses are based on an unusually large number of respondents (about 67,000 7th, 8th and 9th graders) collected by researchers from 31 countries;  It includes reports on the characteristics, experiences and behaviour of first and second generation migrant youth from a variety of cultures;  It is one of the first large-scale international studies asking 12-16 year olds about their victimization experiences (bullying, assault, robbery, theft);  It describes both intriguing differences between young people from different countries and country clusters in the nature and extent of delinquency, victimization and substance use, as well as remarkable cross-national uniformities in delinquency, victimization, and substance use patterns;  A careful comparative analysis of the social responses to offending and victimization adds to our limited knowledge on this important issue;  Detailed chapters on the family, school, neighbourhood, lifestyle and peers provide a rich comparative description of these institutions and their impact on delinquency;  It tests a number of theoretical perspectives (social control, self-control, social disorganization, routine activities/opportunity theory) on a large international sample from a variety of national contexts;  It combines a theoretical focus with a thoughtful consideration of the policy implications of the findings;  An extensive discussion of the ISRD methodology of ‘flexible standardization’ details the challenges of comparative research. The book consists of 12 chapters, which also may be read individually by those interested in particular special topics (for instance, the last chapter should be of special interest to policy makers). The material is presented in such a way that it is accessible to more advanced students, researchers and scholars in a variety of fields, such as criminology, sociology, deviance, social work, comparative methodology, youth studies, substance use studies, and victimology.

State-of-the-art critical reviews of recent scholarship on the causes of juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice system responses, and public policies to prevent and reduce youth crime are brought together in a single volume authored by leading scholars and researchers in neuropsychology, developmental and social psychology, sociology, history, criminology/criminal justice, and law.

This text provides an overview of the most popular theoretical explanations of juvenile delinquency, and of current Canadian and international research in the field.

Combining theory with practical application, this seminal introduction to juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice integrates the latest research with emerging problems and trends in an overview of the field. Now in its sixth edition, this book features new interviews and discussions with child care professionals and juvenile justice practitioners on their experiences translating theory to practice. It addresses recent changes in the characteristics of delinquents alongside changes in laws and the rise of social media and smartphones. It includes a new chapter of international perspectives on juvenile justice and delinquency. Incorporated throughout is consideration of the mental health and special needs of youth in the juvenile justice system, as well as at-risk and non-fault children as victims. With attention to both quantitative and qualitative findings, this clear and comprehensive text will be useful for students of criminology, criminal justice, sociology and those interested in working with at-risk youth.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to juvenile delinquency by defining and describing juvenile delinquency, examining explanations for delinquent behavior, and considering contemporary efforts to control delinquency through prevention and juvenile justice. The text cultivates an understanding of juvenile delinquency by examining and linking key criminological theories and research. Coverage includes: the historical origins and transformation of "juvenile delinquency" and juvenile justice; the nature of delinquency, addressing the extent of delinquent offenses, the social correlates of offending and victimization (age, gender, race and ethnicity, and social class), and the developmental patterns of offending; theoretical explanations of delinquency, with insights from biosocial criminology, routine activities, rational choice, social control, social learning, social structure, labeling, and critical criminologies; evidence-based practice in delinquency prevention and contemporary juvenile justice. Fully revised and updated, the new edition incorporates the latest theory and research in the field of juvenile delinquency and provides expanded discussion of contemporary juvenile justice reform, evidence-based practice in delinquency prevention, and disproportionate minority contact throughout the juvenile justice process. This book is essential reading for courses on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice. The book is supported by a range of compelling pedagogical features. Each chapter includes key terms, learning objectives, an opening case study, box inserts that provide practical application of theory and research, critical thinking questions, suggested reading, useful websites, and a glossary of key terms. A companion website offers an array of resources for students and instructors. For students, this website provides chapter overviews, flashcards of key terms, and useful websites. The instructor site is password protected and offers a complete set of PowerPoint slides and an extensive test bank for each chapter—all prepared by the authors.