Growing up in an affluent society—Delinquency and recidivism in suburban America

This study examines recidivism rates for juveniles in an affluent suburban area. It was designed to test the hypothesis that there is no correlation between type of disposition imposed on juveniles who come to the attention of the Court on delinquency charges and recidivism rates for these individuals. The study focuses on the recidivism of those youths who had been referred to the Court for the alleged commission of acts which would be classified as “criminal” in nature if committed by an adult. The findings of this study challenge traditional assumptions about disposition of cases and treatment of offenders.     

重塑行政体制与构建和谐社会

和谐社会是现代政府、责任政府提供的首位公共产品。在构建和谐社会的过程中,需要加强政府的主导地位,即政府要保障公共产品的和谐供给与和谐需求。和谐社会能否建成的关键还在于能否建立适应社会主义市场经济的行政体制。而公共财政的建立又是构建适应社会主义市场经济的行政体制的要务。     

Appearance and Delinquency

This article examines the relationship between appearance and self-reported delinquency. Based on prior research, it is hypothesized that (1) unattractive individuals will be more delinquent, and (2) strain, labeling, and social control variables will mediate the relationship between appearance and delinquency Data from a national sample of adolescent boys support the first hypothesis. Only partial support is provided for the second hypothesis, with social control variables explaining from 9% to 31% of the association between appearance and delinquency. Theoretical and methodological reasons for the limited support of the second hypothesis are discussed.     

Delinquency and Justice

Abstract

In an attempt to demonstrate the value of case study research on delinquency in American Indian communities, Tribal Court juvenile records from one western American Indian community, 1991 through 1998, were analyzed and interviews conducted with community members. Most arrests of juveniles were for alcohol possession and consumption, conduct offenses and status offenses. The most severe offense was simple assault. Youths were more likely to be detained for underage consumption than youths off reservation. Few bookings (26%) resulted in court hearings and all cases resulted in dismissal, deferred adjudication, or deferred sentencing. Girls had higher rates of arrest and detention than males. Interviews identified alcohol consumption and erosion of the extended family as correlates of delinquency.     

Religiosity and Delinquency

This article explores the contradictory findings that have characterized the relationship between religion and delinquency. The data are based on interviews with 600 adolescents attending public school in the Atlanta, Georgia area. A wide variety of religious and delinquency measures were used, allowing a complete examination of the relationship. The existence of a weak to moderate negative zero-order relationship was verified. Religious salience, belief in the power of personal prayer, and orthodoxy were found to be related more strongly to delinquency than the most often-used variable, church attendance. Most important, in spite of the relatively strong zero-order relationship between a number of religiosity and delinquency measures, within a multivariate context religion's contribution as an independent variable was not statistically significant. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed.     

Friendship Networks and Delinquency: The Relative Nature of Peer Delinquency

Although acknowledging the importance of adolescent friendships in the etiology of delinquency, prior studies have yet to provide a detailed examination of the role of actual friendship networks in delinquency. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1995–1996), this study's incorporation of friendship networks allows for a more rigorous conceptualization and measurement of peer delinquency based on carefully defined networks of adolescent friendships. Findings illustrate that friendship networks are very heterogenous in terms of members' participation in delinquent behavior with the majority of adolescents belonging to networks containing both delinquent and non-delinquent friends. In support of differential association's premise that delinquent behavior is influenced by the ratio of definitions favorable to those unfavorable to law violation (Sutherland, 1947), the proportion of delinquent friends in a respondent's network is most strongly associated with respondents' subsequent delinquency. This relative measure of peer delinquency is preferable to a measure of the absolute level of delinquency occurring by friends, the average delinquency committed by friends, or the absolute number of delinquent friends. Enmeshment in a friendship network where consensus about the appropriateness of delinquency is maximized (i.e., all friends are delinquent or non-delinquent) most effectively constrains the behaviors of network members to resemble the groups' behavior.     

Japanese Society and Delinquency

Juvenile crime rates in Japan have been increasing as adult rates decline. The rise is produced mainly by an increase of minor offenses in the youngest (aged 14–16) age-group of offenders. To some extent this reflects a real change in the behavior of Japanese children. To a greater extent, we believe, it reflects a change in the behavior of the agents of juvenile justice, who are increasingly assuming jurisdiction over behavior that was formerly the responsibility of family, community, and school.     

Family Processes and Delinquency

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between family processes and delinquency. A multiethnic sample was utilized to determine whether the impact of parental attachment, involvement and supervision on delinquency is consistent across Latino, White and African American youth. Analysis of two waves of data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth indicates that relationships are not identical across ethnic and gender groups. Group differences uncovered by the current study are consistent with earlier research on family processes and suggest that both ethnicity and gender are important considerations when estimating the influence of the family on delinquent behavior. Theoretical and policy implications of group differences are discussed.     

European Union economic growth and the age structure of the population

We test the robustness of correlations between age structure and economic growth in EU15 countries by replicating a previous OECD study. A hump-shaped relation with the age structure is confirmed where increases in the dependent age group shares are associated with decreasing GDP growth rates. In addition we confirm that the peak of the hump is in the upper part of the working age population. Models estimated on data up to 1990 agree quite well when data for 15 more years are added. Sensitivity tests, instrumented regressions and addition of control variables do not change this conclusion. Thus, the age profile of correlations between age and economic growth is robust over time. This motivates a prospective analysis of future effects ageing will have on EU growth. The basic conclusion from this exercise is that ageing will be accompanied by stagnation in GDP growth, but at rather different time horizons.

日本未成年人犯罪与预防——以日本福井县未成年人犯罪为调查对象

日本是世界发达国家中未成年人犯罪率极低的国家,学者提出了许多理论去解释这种犯罪状况.笔者通过对日本福井县的实地考察,发现这一现象与日本发达的少年预防犯罪体系及少年司法制度有关,其主要通过裁判所优先主义、审前的调查先行主义和观察监护制度、审判处理时的保护处分制度以及审后的社会复归程序等防治措施,确保有效地改造青少年和收到预防青少年犯罪的良好效果.其经验十分值得我国借鉴.     

未成年人刑事案件"快速通道"之建构

为淡化刑事污点,实现儿童利益最大原则,预防和控制犯罪,节约司法资源,应当建立未成年人刑事诉讼的快速通道。该通道应由侦审合一机制、警检联动机制、辩诉交易程序、简易审理机制等构成。而为了避免损害未成年人的利益,还要确立程序选择权和完善律师帮助制度以及相应的保密制度。     

关于未成年人犯罪原因的思考

在我国，未成年人犯罪通常是指已满14周岁不满18周岁的未成年人实施的刑法和有关刑事法律所规定的犯罪行为。目前，未成年人犯罪日益低龄化、凶残化及智能化。作为一种社会现象，未成年人犯罪是有其特定原因的。只有找准原因，才能从源头入手，有效防止未成年人犯罪日益频发。本文从心理学和社会学两方面入手剖析原因。     

Juvenile Delinquency and Victimization in Cyprus

Criminological and criminal justice research is a relatively new academic discipline in Cyprus. The current paper first examines and critiques official data on juvenile delinquency in Cyprus. As expected, the findings on delinquency and victimization gathered from self-reported surveys suggest higher rates of delinquency than those based on official statistics. This paper is based for a large part on data obtained from the International Self-reported Delinquency Study (ISRD-2), a national survey of 2385 Cypriot 12–16 year old pupils concerning a number of delinquency risk and protective factors. Those results were compared to the data collected as part of the ISRD-2 in five European Union (EU) member states, which – like Cyprus - joined the EU in 2004. This comparison focuses on data in the capitals of the six countries concerned. Research and delinquency prevention implications are discussed.     

Family Correlates of Male and Female Delinquency

This article examines sex differences in family bonds as a possible explanation of sex differences in self-reported delinquent behavior (SRD) among a national probability sample of 1725 adolescents. It was hypothesized that girls would report significantly stronger family bonds and significantly lower delinquency than boys. The findings provide limited support for these hypotheses. The expected sex differences in SRD were observed. males report significantly greater involvement in all forms of delinquent behavior. However, the expected sex differences in family bonds were not observed. Family bonds are modestly correlated with delinquency, but at comparable rates for males and females, and with evidence of their greater association among males in many cases. Theoretical and methodological explanations are suggested for the divergence of the observed findings from existing research.     

Juvenile Delinquency in the Netherlands: Trends and Perspectives

A comparison is made, on several levels, of the laws of various states in the United States and the State of Israel concerning the crime of rape as personally committed by a husband upon his wife, known as “marital rape.” Among the fifty states, there is a sharp division whether such an act is criminal at all. The majority of states have held the act not criminal based primarily upon the common law doctrine of marital immunity first enunciated in England by Lord Hale. Some of these states have followed the Model Penal Code and codified the immunity concept within their criminal law.

Those states which have rejected Hale's immunity concept include New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and others. Upon judicial review, New York invalidated its statutory immunity for husbands by declaring it unconstitutional and a violation of the fourteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution. New Jersey, as an example, statutorily eliminated the defense of marital immunity for rape, while other states simply rejected Hall's doctrine altogether. In 1980, Israel judicially rejected the defense of marital immunity insofar as a Jewish married couple was concerned by selectively utilizing Jewish religious law. It later enacted legislation eliminating the defense of marital immunity for rape for all persons regardless of religion.     

Girls' Delinquency and the Justice Implications of Intake Workers' Perspectives

Abstract

This research examines the legal processing of girls in the context of intake workers' perceptions of girls' delinquency in a large southwestern county in which Mexican-Americans are the numerical majority. Using official records and in-depth interviews, girls' delinquency and the complexities of intake workers' perceptions of gender, ethnicity and social class are examined. With the exception of a low number of referrals for drugs, girls were referred for those offenses most common among girls nationally: shoplifting, status offenses, and simple assaults. Juvenile Probation and Parole Officers (JPPOs) explained girls' referrals in the context of family and other relationships. Girls were described as sexualized and manipulative. JPPOs identified white girls as privileged and linked this privilege to conflict with parents. Latinas were described as experiencing the most pressure toward traditional gender roles and a sex-based double standard. The implications of these data for juvenile justice decision-making and policy in this jurisdiction are discussed.