Even during periods of relatively low violence, the incidence of violent behavior by and among young people is a prominent issue. Policymakers and communities always need effective methods of addressing violent acts by youth.
Multiple Research Methods for Evidence Generation
This chapter describes tools for researchers to address the tasks of problem definition, measurement, causal processes, and generalization. We begin with an extended example of developing practice-based evidence in community-based youth justice organizations in New York City.
The U.S. Juvenile Justice Policy Landscape
The diverse mix of policies and practices in the juvenile justice system raises questions about its future.
The Second American Crime Drop
Are today's violent crime rates different from the rates of 30 years ago? Do trends in serious and violent crime by juveniles (under age 18) differ from trends among older youth (i.e., young adults ages 18-24), and how much of the overall crime decline that began in the 1990s can be attributed to juveniles and older youth?
Current Practice in the Juvenile Justice System
Juvenile justice is a highly varied process that is shaped by law and driven by local practice. The availability and suitability of programs often influences the outcome.
Reducing the Risks and Consequences of Crime Victimization in Schools
The need for better evidence about school-based crime prevention programs remains as urgent as it was a decade ago when evaluation research was far less available than it is today. Policymakers and practitioners deserve better information about school safety and how to ensure it.
Varieties of Juvenile Court: Nonspecialized Courts, Teen Courts, Drug Courts, and Mental Health Courts
This chapter addresses the growing use of specialized, problem-solving courts for delinquent juveniles. After introducing the specialized nature of the juvenile court itself, we describe three of the most popular forms of specialized courts for youths (teen courts, juvenile drug court, and juvenile/family mental health courts), and we examine several key policy and practice issues related to their operation.
Better Research for Better Policies
In setting priorities for funding and support, intervention programs demonstrated to be effective and efficient are preferred over programs that are well intentioned but untested by rigorous evaluation. An evidence-based approach is undeniably better than an approach based on faith or anecdotes, but the findings of existing evaluations are not sufficient by themselves as a basis for effective policy-making. Translating research into practice requires more than a review of existing studies. It requires knowledge of the research process and its limitations.
The U.S. Juvenile Justice Policy Landscape
The diverse mix of policies and practices introduced in recent years raises important questions about the posture of juvenile justice today. Most scholars agree that decades of "get-tough" reforms diminished the influence of the juvenile court. Many contend that these changes rendered the criminal (adult) and juvenile justice systems largely indistinguishable. Others question these claims and suggest that rehabilitation remains a critical goal for juvenile justice professionals.
Trends in American Youth Crime
This chapter answers two deceptively simple questions, “How much juvenile crime is there today?” and “How does the level of juvenile crime today compare with juvenile crime 20 or 30 years ago?”
A Community Youth Development Approach to Gang Control Programs
To make real progress in gang control, especially with prevention programs that focus on the youngest gang members and those at risk of gang involvement, researchers and practitioners must cooperate to build comprehensive interventions using frameworks that are theoretically, conceptually, and administratively sound.
Juvenile Crime Interventions
This chapter reviews the cost-benefit literature on juvenile crime reduction programs, and proposes four program models that should be investigated for their potential cost-effectiveness: mentoring programs, teen courts, juvenile drug courts, and systemic reform strategies.
Can we do Without Juvenile Justice?
Elected officials throughout the U.S. are gradually dismantling the juvenile justice system and replacing it with a pseudo-criminal system, one that emphasizes mandatory sentences and formal, adversarial procedures. Is the separate, juvenile justice system still feasible? If not, what can replace it?
Probation and Parole
Probation and parole are essential components of the juvenile and criminal (adult) justice systems.
Whose Problem?
Rather than simply responding punitively to the criminal behavior of youth, we try to resolve the problems that generate criminal behavior - but whose problems? We Americans are biased in how we identify problems and choose solutions. We like to explain our social problems in a way that conforms to a predetermined set of affordable solutions.
Teen Courts – A Focus on Research
Edited by Thomas Bernard, Serious Delinquency features a survey approach to the major issues in delinquency and the juvenile justice system. Coverage is both broad and deep, yet presented accessibly. Topics include patterns of offending and victimization, predictors, theoretically driven correlates, and a wide range of issues in the operations of the juvenile justice system.
Reviving Juvenile Justice in a Get-Tough Era
Edited by Thomas Bernard, Serious Delinquency features a survey approach to the major issues in delinquency and the juvenile justice system. Coverage is both broad and deep, yet presented accessibly. Topics include patterns of offending and victimization, predictors, theoretically driven correlates, and a wide range of issues in the operations of the juvenile justice system.
Juvenile Drug Courts and Teen Substance Abuse
We do not know whether juvenile drug courts are more effective than traditional juvenile courts in reducing substance abuse among young offenders. Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers should think carefully about the role drug courts should play in the juvenile justice system.
The Juvenile Court
Jeffrey A. Butts (2002). The Juvenile Court. In The Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice (Second Edition). Joshua Dressler (Editor). New York: Macmillan Reference (Volume 3, pp. 937-947). Introduction Juvenile courts in the United States are legally responsible for young people who are arrested by the police or otherwise accused of breaking the criminal laws of their … Continue reading The Juvenile Court
Brick by Brick: Dismantling the Border between Juvenile and Adult Justice
Much of the American public and a growing number of policymakers appear to believe that the original concept of juvenile justice was flawed. Public criticism of the juvenile court intensified during the last two decades of the 20th century, and many States began to abandon those aspects of juvenile justice that were once distinctly different from the criminal (adult) justice system.
Waiting for Justice: Moving Young Offenders Through the Juvenile Court Process
A review of previous research on court delay, an analysis of juvenile court processing times, and a detailed examination of how delay affects the juvenile justice system.
Community-based Corrections
Evaluations have shown community corrections programs to be a viable alternative to incarceration for many offenders. In order to understand the role of community corrections programs, it is necessary to differentiate the functions of punishment and corrections.
In-home Programs for Juvenile Delinquents
In-home alternatives hold unrealized potential for providing cost-effective supervision and rehabilitative services for young people currently placed in more expensive residential settings.
Intensive Supervision Alternatives for Adjudicated Offenders
A study conducted in the Detroit, MI area evaluated three in-home intensive supervision programs providing an alternative to state commitment for juvenile offenders.
Jeffrey Butts 