The result of a 30-year longitudinal study in Racine, Wisconsin, this monograph tracks the criminal behaviour of juveniles and the persistence or decline of that behaviour into adult life. The author investigates the influence of the neighbourhood environment on the development of a criminal career and the utility of a criminal typology for the pur

The result of a 30-year longitudinal study in Racine, Wisconsin, this monograph tracks the criminal behaviour of juveniles and the persistence or decline of that behaviour into adult life. The author investigates the influence of the neighbourhood environment on the development of a criminal career and the utility of a criminal typology for the pu

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.

A longitudinal birth cohort study of juvenile delinquency and adult crime among 4079 persons living in Wisconsin from age 6 to early adulthood. Data on police contacts and their dispositions were obtained from the police department and other agencies and other data were obtained by interviewing samples of the 1942 and 1949 cohorts. The 1955 Cohort data were brought up to 1989, recoded, and reanalyzed to determine the importance of alcohol and drug involvement in criminal career continuity.

What makes a juvenile delinquent develop into an adult criminal? What defines-cognitively, developmentally, legally-the transition from juvenile to adult and what determines whether patterns of criminal behavior persist? In most US states and Western nations, legal adulthood begins at age 18. This volume focuses on the period surrounding that abrupt transition (roughly ages 15-29) and addresses what happens to offending careers during it. Edited by two leading authorities in the fields of psychology and criminology, Transitions from Juvenile Delinquency to Adult Crime examines why the period of transition is important and how it can be better understood and addressed both inside and outside of the justice system. Bringing together over thirty leading scholars from multiple disciplines in both North America and Europe, this volume asks critical questions about criminal careers and causation, and whether current legal definitions of adulthood accurately reflect actual maturation and development. The volume also addresses the current efficacy of the justice system in addressing juvenile crime and recidivism, why and how juveniles ought to be treated differently from adults, if special legal provisions should be established for young adults, and the effectiveness of crime prevention programs implemented during early childhood and adolescence. With serious scholarly analysis and practical policy proposals, Transitions from Juvenile Delinquency to Adult Crime addresses what can be done to ensure that todays juvenile delinquents do not become tomorrows adult criminals.

This is a book about Edwin H. Sutherland's theory of differ ential association. I received my Ph. D. from Indiana University, where I worked with Sutherland, and the volume is made up principally of my writings on differential association during the years 1952-1963. However, the volume is neither a festschrift nor a book of reprints. The original materials have in most cases been quite severely edited in order to give the volume coherence and in order to minimize repetition and redundancy. For example, portions of one journal article appear in Chapters I, IV and V; parts of a chapter published in a recent book appear in Chapters I, II and III; and Chapter IX is composed of two inter-related articles, published eight years apart. Chapter I has not appeared elsewhere in its present form, but most of it consists of snippets culled from several of my articles and books and woven together in new form. The book is intended primarily for non-American readers, who on the whole are not as familiar with Sutherland's theory (or with other sociological and social psychological theories about delinquency, crime and corrections) as are Americans. Yet at least a nodding acquaintance with Sutherland's work is becoming increasingly necessary to an intelligent reading of the American literature in criminology.

Describes how positive parental involvement deters delinquent behavior while its absence -- or worse, its negative counterpart -- fosters misconduct. Researchers conclude that children raised in supportive, affectionate, and accepting homes are less likely to become deviant.