NCJ Number
79309
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1980) Pages: 85-100
Date Published
1980
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The perceptions and attitudes of clients of Israel's juvenile justice system regarding police and probation officers and judges are examined.
Abstract
Labeling theorists assert that the interaction between juvenile justice personnel and delinquents produces negative attitudes of each toward the other, which gives the juveniles a sense of social injustice and nourishes a combativeness that tends to fuel deviancy. The present study is part of a wider project involving a 5-year followup of all known delinquent children under the age of criminal responsibility (age 9) in Israel during 1965 (n=1,339). About 5 years later, 312 had subsequent justice system contacts (8 girls, 304 boys). Of the 304 boys, 61 were traced and interviewed. These were the 'continuing' delinquents in the study. From the group of boys who did not have a police file 5 years after initial system contact, 69 were interviewed in the followup study. These were the 'noncontinuers.' When asked about their attitudes toward various juvenile justice system personnel, most of the subjects expressed favorable perceptions of the probation officers and juvenile court judges, but their perceptions of the police tended to be negative, especially among those with more extensive involvement in the juvenile justice system. Overall, those with more experience in the system tended to have less positive views of system personnel than those with more limited experience. The findings are not clear enough to either substantiate or negate the claims of labeling theorists. Tabular data, 26 references, and 6 footnotes are provided.