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 book informs readers about the latest research and the most promising and effective programmes for understanding, preventing and controlling juvenile delinquency.

Juveniles in Contemporary Society: Understanding Juvenile Justice and Delinquency is an authoritative and well-crafted introduction to today's Juvenile Justice system. Using a thematic framework that supports analysis, the authors provide an integrated approach to topical coverage. Through clear writing, an interdisciplinary selection of sources, and thoughtful themes, authors Saundra D. Trujillo, L. Thomas Winfree, Jr., and Carlos E. Posadas illuminate the roles of history and theory in shaping today's juvenile justice system. Helpful pedagogy consistently supports understanding, retention, and review. Professors and students will benefit from: Diverse author team who bring a variety of backgrounds and perspectives to the text. Theoretical Reflections boxes that integrate overarching themes throughout the text. Comparative and international insights grounded in the content of each chapter, with International Perspectives boxes included throughout the book. Understandable historical review of both juvenile justice and juvenile delinquency. Compelling vignettes that open each chapter, raising questions about the themes to be explored, illustrating basic concepts, and fueling class discussion Helpful graphs and tables illustrate the key topics. Excellent Critical Thinking questions at the end of each chapter. Unique chapters that are key to the study of Juvenile Justice today: Chapter 5, Understanding Delinquency: Theories of Race, Ethnicity and Gender and Chapter 12, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender: Highlights from Recent Research explore the impacts of social constructions like gender, race, and ethnicity on youths' interactions with the justice system. Chapter 6, Delinquency Prevention addresses prevention and intervention from both philosophical and practical perspectives, discussing what works and what does not work and some of the reasons behind program success or failure. Chapter 11, Juvenile Probation and Aftercare provides thoughtful and in-depth discussion of this often-overlooked topic. Chapter 13, Youth Gangs and Violence highlights a national issue and shows how theory can inform research and how research can inform both policy and practice in the juvenile justice system.

"Introductory text for courses on juvenile justice/juvenile delinquency"--

This book provides a comprehensive, cutting-edge look at the problems that impact the way we conduct intervention and treatment for youth in crisis today--an indispensable resource for practitioners, students, researchers, policymakers, and faculty working in the area of juvenile justice. Understanding Juvenile Justice and Delinquency provides a concise overview of the most compelling issues in juvenile delinquency today. It covers not only the range of offenses but also the offenders themselves as well as those impacted by crime and delinquency. All of the chapters contain up-to-date research, laws, and data that accurately frame discussions on youth violence, detention, and treatment; related issues such as gangs and drugs; the consequences for scholars, teachers, and students; and best practices in intervention methods. The book's organization guides readers logically from the broader definitions and parameters of the study of juveniles to the more specific. The volume leads with an explanation of the relationship between victimization and juvenile behavior and sets up boundaries of the arenas of delinquency--from the family to the streets to cyberspace. The book then focuses on more specific populations of offenders and offenses, including recent, emerging issues, offering the most accurate information available and cutting-edge insight into the issues that affect youth in custody and in our communities.