Tag: juvenile

Trade

Interview with the International Juvenile Justice Observatory

The main challenge is that juvenile justice policies are not based on a simple, rational assessment of costs and effectiveness, or even on the basic concept of justice. Policy choices are affected by fear and emotion, as well as political/electoral competition, economic self-interest of governments and service providers, and the enduring battle between social classes as to who defines the origins and solutions to social problems. Continue reading Interview with the International Juvenile Justice Observatory

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts
Presentations, Video

Discussing Evidence-Based Policy and Practice

The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JJIE.org) hosted a Google Hangout (online live chat) between the director of the R&E Center, Jeffrey Butts, and Cynthia Lum from the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University. The conversation covered a number of topics, including the nature of evidence-based practices, how programs or practices become evidence-based, and the forces that can make the connections between evidence and practice problematic. Continue reading Discussing Evidence-Based Policy and Practice

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts
Regional Print

New Curfew Takes Effect Friday

Criminal Justice, said the argument that a curfew is necessary to protect children is “convenient” but not rooted in fact. Governments have child welfare laws for safety, he said, and officers can intervene when necessary without needing a curfew law to step in. Butts said Baltimore’s law is not only strict, but confusing because of the way it changes based on a child’s age and the time of year. “It’s more coverage than I have seen most cities do,” Butts said. “It sounds not only comprehensive but complicated, which means kids will lose track of it.” Continue reading New Curfew Takes Effect Friday

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts
Briefs

Violent Youth Crime Plummets to a 30-year Low

Violent crime arrests involving under-18 youth dropped considerably since 2008. The violent youth  arrest rate peaked in 1994, before falling through 2004. Violent arrests began to grow after 2004, however, reaching a rate of nearly 300 per 100,000 10-17 year-olds between 2006 and 2008. Between 2008 and 2011, the violent youth arrest rate fell sharply once again, plunging from approximately 300 to 200 arrests per 100,000 youth. In 2011, the violent crime arrest rate was 30 percent lower than it had been just three years earlier in 2008. Continue reading Violent Youth Crime Plummets to a 30-year Low

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts