The demands for changes from the rehabilitative dispositions supported by the juvenile justice philosophy to a retributive system that deters and incapacitates offenders appear to result from the view that rehabilitative interventions are ineffective. However, recent empirical evidence has challenged this view. Evaluations of community corrections programs for serious and violent offenders suggest new directions for effective treatment and reintegration, as shown by the Violent Juvenile Offender Program, a study involving four urban juvenile courts. In addition, analysis of transfers of juveniles to adult courts has shown the need for explicit policy and criteria expressing the intent of the transfer statutes. The youths processed in adult courts receive harsher punishments than comparable youths processed in juvenile courts, and the informal criteria and statutory language that seem to guide the transfer decision are currently so subjective that they invite disparity and capriciousness by prosecutors and judges. Figures, tables, notes, and 104 references.
Social and Legal Policy Dimensions of Violent Juvenile Crime
NCJ Number
118548
Date Published
1988
Length
45 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the debate over the treatment and control of violent juvenile crime emphasizes recent evidence on the effectiveness of juvenile correctional programs in Boston, Detroit, Memphis, Newark, and Phoenix and on the fairness, equity, and consequences of transferring juveniles to adult courts.
Abstract
Date Published: January 1, 1988