Tag: youth

Briefs

Violent Crime Rates Continue to Fall Among Juveniles and Young Adults

The declines in the rate of murder arrests involving juveniles and young adults completely reversed the increases seen prior to 1994, bringing murder arrest rates down to levels below those of 1980. In general, the changing arrest rates for older juveniles mirrored those of young adults during the 1990s and early 2000s. Robbery was the exception. Continue reading Violent Crime Rates Continue to Fall Among Juveniles and Young Adults

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts
Audio, Broadcast

WHYY—Youth Courts and the Value of a Jury of Their Peers

Research shows that young people who participate in youth court or teen court programs may have lower rates of recidivism. Adults involved in the programs attribute much of their success to the influence of positive peer pressure and the value of giving young people a voice in the process. Joining Radio Times host Marty Moss-Coaneus to tell the story of youth courts are Jeffrey Butts of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who has evaluated teen court programs across the country; and attorney Gregg Volz, who has implemented school-based youth courts in Chester. Continue reading WHYY—Youth Courts and the Value of a Jury of Their Peers

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts
National Print

New York Times—Where Teens Find the Jury Isn’t Rigged

“The most powerful factor is peer support for pro-social behavior,” said Jeffrey Butts, one of the authors of the Urban Institute study, who is now the director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “When a judge controls the room — that’s what their whole life is like. That’s no different than high school.” Continue reading New York Times—Where Teens Find the Jury Isn’t Rigged

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts
Books and Chapters

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. Continue reading Better Research for Better Policies

Unknown's avatarJeffreyButts