Redeploy Illinois Program: The Impact on Juveniles,Families, and the Juvenile Justice System

The Redeploy Illinois (RI) pilot program was created to give Illinois counties financial support to provide community‐based services for nonviolent youths who would otherwise be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice, which oversees juvenile correctional institutions. The current project assesses: 1) the RI data in McLean County; 2) the attitudes and perceptions of the youths in the program; 3) the views of family members of RI youths; and 4) the views of the probation officers, attorneys, and service providers. This research will provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the RI program on youths, families, victims, and the justice system.     

中国少年司法制度的一体化

中国少年司法制度在开展引进借鉴和实验探索的同时,必须厘清这一制度的构建理念。当来自体制内部的力量成为延缓这一制度建设的阻力之时,观念上的论辩便显得尤为重要。少年司法是区别于传统“成人司法”的一种制度,其理论基础和基础学科是由非法学学科与法学相整合的知识体系。在这一理论基础之中,产生了“少年司法制度一体化”的客观要求,由不同标准构建的四种一体化模式,体现了少年司法的本质特征。少年司法特殊定位折射出一个国家成人司法的现实状态,也预示着成人司法的未来走向。     

The Justice Model in the Juvenile Justice System: Washington State's Experience

In 1977, the Washington State Legislature enacted radical modifications of its juvenile justice code. Explicitly abandoning the parens patriae philosophy of the juvenile justice system, a "justice" philosophy was adopted. Provisions of the law include a determinate sentencing structure, the divestiture of status offenses, greater due process rights for juveniles, and a formalized diversion process which emphasizes accountability rather than treatment. This paper brings together the available research on the implementation of the law to assess how the introduction of a justice approach has influenced equality, fairness, and punishment levels in Washington State's juvenile justice system.     

Arbitrary Arbitration: Diverting Juveniles Into the Justice System

Abstract Considerable research has examined the effects of diverting juveniles away from the juvenile justice system. These studies have seldom investigated the possibility that diversion may inadvertently “widen the net.” This article assesses the relationship between diversion and net-widening by evaluating a leading Florida-based diversionary program, and this program's capacity to “create a clientele” in order to justify its very existence. The diversionary program under evaluation herein boasts a 98% nonrecidivist rate among its clients, and is touted as a prototype diversionary program for the nation. The current study results, however, indicate that a majority of youths diverted by this program have committed such trivial acts that entrance into any aspect of the juvenile justice system—even under the guise of a diversionary program—seems unwarranted. The results further suggest that among youths who have committed serious juvenile crimes, most are terminated unsuccessfully from this program, and are returned to the justice system for prosecution.     

The Violent Female Juvenile Offender: An Ignored Minority Within the Juvenile Justice System

Little attention is given to the violent female adolescent. While there is no argument that males commit most of the violent crimes (both juveniles and adults), violent females may demand the attention of policy-makers and administrators. Historically there has been a lack of program offerings for these offenders. This article examines violent female adolescent offenders referred to the Clark County (Las Vegas, Nevada) Juvenile Court Services in two different years (1985 and 1988). This examination includes a review of programs and alternatives for these offenders and a review of what is currently being done by the juvenile justice system to accommodate this population. Dispositions and programmatic treatment offerings for violent adolescent males and females are compared. Recommendations are offered for the juvenile justice system for consideration.     

The Juvenile Justice Assessment Instrument

Abstract This article presents the development of a new assessment instrument for use with juvenile delinquents: The Juvenile Justice Assessment Instrument (JJAI). The term “juvenile delinquency” covers a multitude of antisocial behaviors engaged in by adolescents. Research indicates that certain intrinsic vulnerabilities may combine with environmental stressors to engender maladaptive behaviors. Unfortunately, these potentially treatable vulnerabilities often remain unrecognized in the delinquent population. Because of the sheer numbers of children entering the juvenile justice system each year, it is impossible to ensure that each child will receive a full evaluation from a trained clinician. The JJAI offers those who work with juvenile delinquents an economical, yet sophisticated, assessment tool for evaluating youngsters and recommending appropriate treatment and disposition. This paper also presents the results of two field trials with the JJAI. In a juvenile justice setting, data elicited by the JJAI was compared to data gathered by the court. In a residential treatment setting, data elicited by the JJAI was compared with information gathered by staff at the treatment facility. A discussion of the obstacles faced by those who interview delinquents, and strategies within the JJAI to overcome them, are discussed.     

The Double Paradox of Juvenile Justice

This article considers the history of a century of juvenile justice. Illinois 'invented' the separate 'children's court' in 1899 and this concept was spearheaded in Northern America, Great Britain and continental Europe in the first decades of the new century. However, a century after its foundation the future of the juvenile court is in doubt everywhere in the Western world. Some conclude that there is a cyclical pattern in juvenile justice policies. That proposition is rejected in this article. The proposition of a cyclical pattern also presupposes that there is no real problem at stake in treating juvenile offenders. The main point of this article, however, is that juvenile justice cannot escape trying to solve a very complicated foundational issue. This issue is a double paradox, that is, juvenile justice has to solve two philosophical questions: the justification of punishment and the justification of punishment for non-adults. This diagnosis presents a new conceptual framework for an analysis of the history of juvenile justice.     

Influences on Detention Decisions in the Juvenile Justice System

This paper examines the pretrial detention of juveniles in County X located in a northeastern state. The sample (N=642) included Black, White, and Hispanic males and females adjudicated delinquent in the summer of 2000. The following independent variables were analyzed with respect to the dependent variable of pretrial detention: age, sex, address, race, current offense (misdemeanors, violent misdemeanors, felonies, violent felonies, and probation violations), prior offense (misdemeanors, violent misdemeanors, felonies, and violent felonies), and previous dispositions (community or placement). Several variables were found to be significant in increasing the odds of pretrial detention: probation violations, prior misdemeanors, prior residential placements, prior community interventions, age, sex, urban address, felonies, prior violent misdemeanors, and prior violent felonies. It was expected that minority youths would be more likely to be detained, but race was only significant in the absence of the variable of address. Urban youths were more likely to be detained resulting in an over‐representation of minorities in detention, since most of the minority population resides in the urban area. Also included is supplemental material based on interviews with defense lawyers, judges, masters, and juvenile probation officers.     

Dealing with Juvenile Offenders in the Criminal Justice System

The treatment of juveniles within the criminal justice systems is a matter of great variety in the 11 European countries studied comparatively. The study focuses on the age of criminal responsibility, ways to divert juvenile offenders from the criminal justice system or avoid criminal justice responses to them, juvenile proceedings and special reactions and sanctions. In spite of different approaches there is a common trend towards preventing juvenile offenders from being treated by criminal courts and being sentenced to criminal sanctions.