Many policies and programs are plagued by what criminologists such as Terance Miethe and Robert Meier call “psychological reductionism,” or the tendency to view the causes and solutions to social problems in strictly psychological terms. Psychological reductionism in juvenile justice means that intervention programs focus on youth whose criminal behavior is believed to arise from psychological and emotional troubles. Less attention is paid to designing and evaluating interventions for youth who commit crimes for other reasons, such as a desire for social status, a fear for their personal safety, economic frustrations, negative peer associations, defiance of authority, and even simple adolescent thrill seeking. Continue reading Focusing Juvenile Justice on Positive Youth Development

Although violent crime rates remain at or near their lowest point since the 1970s, any increase in crime generates concern. Law enforcement organizations have expressed deep concern about a recent rise in violent crime statistics. Some of these concerns are well-founded, but others are exaggerated. Continue reading Too Soon to Tell: Deciphering Recent Trends in Youth Violence

Arguments about the value of juvenile justice versus criminal justice traditionally focus on legal principles, adolescent development, and the relative effects of prevention and punishment. This paper suggests adding a cost-benefit approach to the debate. Every state currently has a separate justice system for juveniles, but what could happen if lawmakers made different choices about the types of youth that should be handled in that system? What would be the economic consequences of restricting (or expanding) use of the juvenile justice system? Continue reading The Economics of Juvenile Jurisdiction

Efforts to anticipate future demands for juvenile justice facilities and services are generally known as forecasting. A forecasting process typically begins with an analysis of demographics, juvenile crime, and juvenile justice caseloads. This paper describes some of the preparations necessary to use the Urban Institute’s “Juvenile Forecaster” model [no longer available]. Continue reading Organizing Data & People for Juvenile Justice Population Forecasts