NCJ Number
59622
Date Published
1977
Length
10 pages
Annotation
ASSUMPTIONS CONCERNING THE RATE OF DELINQUENCY IN AUSTRALIA ARE CHALLENGED, AND THE PREVALENT APPROACH FOR HANDLING IS CRITIQUED.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH AUSTRALIAN POLITICIANS AND THE POLICE ARE ASSERTING THAT THE RATE OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN AUSTRALIA IS INCREASING, THERE IS NO RELIABLE EVIDENCE TO CONFIRM THEIR FEARS. POLICE STATISTICS SHOWING AN INCREASE IN OFFICIAL DELINQUENCY CAN BE LARGELY ATTRIBUTED TO STRICTER POLICE POLICIES IN DEALING WITH JUVENILES WHO WOULD HAVE FORMERLY BEEN WARNED AND RELEASED INSTEAD OF CHARGED. POLITICAL LEADERS VIEW DELINQUENTS AS BEING A CLEARLY DELINEATED SEGMENT OF THE YOUTH POPULATION. AUSTRALIAN SELF-REPORT DELINQUENCY STUDIES HAVE SHOWN, HOWEVER, THAT DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR IS A COMMON FEATURE OF THE BEHAVIOR OF ALL YOUTH. THE ILLUSION THAT THE COMMUNITY IS THREATENED BY A GROWING TIDE OF SAVAGE YOUTH HAS BEEN PURSUED IS MANY QUARTERS, RESULTING IN INCREASED INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF YOUTH OR AN INTERVENTION MODEL OF INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT OF YOUTH ON AN INDETERMINATE BASIS. SOME AUSTRALIAN PSYCHIATRISTS RECENTLY SUGGESTED THAT YOUTH BE GIVEN PSYCHIATRIC TESTS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY ARE PRONE TO DELINQUENCY. RESULTS WOULD DETERMINE THE APPLICATION OF INTERVENTION STRATEGIES. THE VALIDITY OF PREDICTING BEHAVIOR FROM ANY KNOWN PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE WEAK; INTERVENTION BASED ON SUCH PREDICTIONS WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF A PERSON'S CIVIL RIGHTS. VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS OF TREATMENT FOR TROUBLED YOUTH ARE THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF INTERVENTION, ASSUMING THAT THE BEHAVIOR PATTERNS EVIDENCED POSE NO SERIOUS THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY. SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INCLUDE CRISIS CENTERS FOR YOUTH, WHICH PROVIDE COUNSELING, JOB TRAINING, TEMPORARY HOUSING, EMERGENCY FUNDS, AND A TEMPORARY RETREAT. FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)