Current Research on Juveniles
"Effects of Juvenile Court Exposure on Crime in Young Adulthood" - Ameli Petitclerc, Uberto Gatti, Frank Vitaro, and Richard E. Tremblay
http://content.ebscohost.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=85400388&S=R&D=a9h&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESeprQ4zdnyOLCmr0yep7NSsaa4TbGWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGrsU2vp65KuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA
Results:
"Reintegrative Confinement and Intensive Aftercare" - David Altschuler and Troy Armstrong
http://www.ojjdp.gov/jjbulletin/9907_3/reintegrate.html
Statistics
The 1-day count of juveniles held in public facilities rose 47% from 1983 to 1995
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19877/
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- Most repeat offenders first come into contact with the law as adolescents.
- Campbell Systematic Review randomly assigned adolescents to the usual court processing or to a diversion program.
- It found that those who were court-processed had significantly higher frequency of reoffending compared to those who were diverted.
- This study examined the effects of juvenile justice system processing under the Canadian Young Offenders' Act; comparing individuals brought to court as adolescents (12-17 years old) with individuals arrested during the same period, but not brought to court, on their official adult criminal behavior (18-25 years old).
- Court-processed participants remained at significantly higher risk of being convicted of an adult criminal offender
- Court-processed participants committed significantly more violent and nonviolent offenses than their peers
- The risk of having an adult criminal record was 50% for exposed individuals and 24.3% for their matched peers
- Study found that male adolescents processed in juvenile court had three times the odds of being convicted of an adult criminal offense by age 25
- Study found that male adolescents processed in juvenile court committed
- self-reported delinquency
- self-reported antisocially
- self-reported alcohol/drug use
- number of conduct disorder symptoms
- child behavior, including disruptiveness, pro sociality, anti sociality, anxiety, and inattention
- physical aggression, including A) kicking, biting, or hitting others; B) fighting with other children; C) or bullying/intimidating other children
- familial risk factors, including: mother's age at the birth of first child, parental education, family income, parental divorce/separation, parental criminal record
- social risk factors, including: offenses committed by classmate's parents, especially fathers; and the child's best friend's aggression-disruptiveness
Results:
- These results suggest that formal processing in juvenile court may place adolescents on a more criminal path than the one they might follow if released or diverted.
- These results indicate that increased judicial contact has no deterrent or rehabilitative effect on young offenders may actually increase reoffending.
- Processing juveniles through court may lead to reduced prosocial opportunities and other labeling effects.
- For youths submitted to custodial placements, increased contact with deviant peers may heighten risk for deviancy training.
"Reintegrative Confinement and Intensive Aftercare" - David Altschuler and Troy Armstrong
http://www.ojjdp.gov/jjbulletin/9907_3/reintegrate.html
Statistics
The 1-day count of juveniles held in public facilities rose 47% from 1983 to 1995
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19877/
- In 2004, the total estimated correctional population in the United States was close to 7 million, with 2.1 million persons being incarcerated in 2004 (as compared to 216,000 in 1974).
- The incarcerated population in 2004 was more than 4.5 times larger than it was in 1978
4 million were on probation
1.4 million were confined in prison
765,355 were on parole
713,990 were confined in jail