1. Chapter 11: THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

2. Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, students should:
1. Understand key features of delinquency prevention
2. Be familiar with effective delinquency prevention programs for children
3. Be familiar with effective delinquency prevention programs for teens
4. Know how children are processed by the juvenile justice system
5. Understand the key elements of a comprehensive juvenile justice strategy

3. Delinquency Prevention
Delinquency prevention refers to intervening in young people’s lives before they engage in delinquency
Delinquency control or delinquency repression:
Police arrest, a juvenile court sanction or death penalty
Non-justice delinquency prevention or alternative delinquency prevention:
YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America
LO1.

4. Classifying Delinquency Prevention
The organization or classification of delinquency prevention is diverse
Public Health Approach:
Preventing diseases and injuries
Primary prevention
Secondary prevention
Tertiary prevention
LO1.

5. Classifying Delinquency Prevention
Developmental Perspective:
Interventions, risk and protective factors, designed to prevent the development of criminal potential in individuals
Prevention activities are organized around different stages of the life course:
Childhood and adolescence
LO1.

6. Question
1. Programs or policies designed to prevent juvenile delinquency that include police making an arrest as part of an operation to address gang problems are considered:
a. delinquency prevention
b. randomized trials
c. delinquency control
d. experimental prevention

7. Question
2. One of the first efforts to classify juvenile delinquency prevention is divided into primary, secondary and tertiary prevention and grew out of this approach
a. Developmental
b. Experimental
c. Public Health
d. Prevention

8. Early Prevention of Delinquency
Early childhood delinquency prevention
Aims at positively influencing the early risk factors of delinquency and criminal offending that continue into adulthood
Some of these early risk factors are:
Poverty, child abuse, hyperactivity or impulsiveness, inadequate parental supervision, and harsh or inconsistent discipline
LO2.

9. Early Prevention of Delinquency
Home-based programs:
Involves the provision of support for families
Home Visitation:
Nurse-Family Partnership started in Elmira, New York
Improve the outcomes of pregnancy
Improve the quality of care that parents provide to their children
Improve women’s own personal life-course development
LO2.

10. Early Prevention of Delinquency
Improving Parenting Skills
A meta-analysis showed significant effects across a number of important facets, including educational success, delinquency, cognitive development, involvement in the justice system and family well-being
Another study showed that early family/parent training is an effective intervention for reducing antisocial behavior and delinquency
Most widely cited parenting program:
Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC)
LO2.

11. Question
3. Child abuse, poverty, intra-familial violence, and harsh punishment increase the risk of occurrence of a future delinquent act and are considered:
a. risk factors
b. protective factors
c. control factors
d. delinquency repression

12. Early Prevention of Delinquency
Preschool:
Some of the key features of preschool programs are:
Developmentally appropriate learning curricula
A wide array of cognitive-based enriching activities
Activities for parents
The Perry Preschool in Ypsilanti, Michigan
The Child-Parent Center (CPC) in Chicago
LO2.

13. Prevention and Early Intervention Programs – Current Example
Department of Family and Protective Services (TX) has been providing services to youths and their families through Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) programs. The purposes of the programs are to prevent abuse, neglect, delinquency, and truancy by utilizing resources and support from youths, their families, their communities and mass media.
Do you believe incorporating community-based programs is an effective way to prevent delinquency?
In order to prevent delinquency more effectively, what other elements or groups of people should be added to the programs?
LO2.

14. Question
4. What is not one of the key features of a highly structured preschool program?
a. Developmentally appropriate learning curricula.
b. Activities for parents to support the school experience at home.
c. A wide array of cognitive-based enriching activities.
d. Allowance for the administration of corporal punishment with parental approval. .

15. Prevention of Delinquency in the Teenage Years
There are a wide range of non-juvenile justice delinquency prevention programs that attempt to address risk factors:
E.g. parental conflict and separation, poor housing, dropping out, and antisocial peers
Programs targeting teenagers include:
Mentoring
School-based programs
Job training
LO3.

16. Prevention of Delinquency in the Teenage Years
Mentoring
Involves nonprofessional volunteers spending time with at-risk youth
Federal Mentoring Program: Juvenile Mentoring Program (JUMP now called: MISIY)
Effectiveness of Mentoring
Jolliffe and Farrington found a 10% reduction in delinquency, and the program is more effective when the duration of contact between mentor and mentee is longer
Tolan and his associates found that the two elements most heavily influenced by mentoring were reduction of delinquency and reduction of aggression
LO3.

17. Youth Mentoring Program –Current Example
In cooperation with Turlock Unified School District, the Department of Criminal Justice at CSU Stanislaus (CA) has been providing mentoring services to local at-risk youths since Currently, more than 100 CSU students and 150 Turlock Unified School District students participate in the program every semester, making this program one the largest university mentoring programs in the nation.
Do you believe programs like this help to prevent juvenile delinquency?
What are the pros and cons of pairing college students with at-risk youths in a mentoring program such as this one?
LO3.

18. Prevention of Delinquency in the Teenage Years
School Programs
Research shows that the most successful programs target an array of risk factors:
Family and school environment
Target youth with highest risk for future delinquency
School-based programs need to be intensive
Engage parents in helping student to learn
Reducing negative peer influences through information about gun carrying, drug use and gang involvement
LO3.

19. Question
5. According to research by Tolan and colleagues, what area did mentoring have the largest effect?
a. Reducing aggression/delinquency
b. Academic achievement
c. Reducing teen pregnancy
d. Reducing alcohol and drug use

20. Prevention of Delinquency in the Teenage Years
Job Training
Job Corps
A federal program established in 1964 for disadvantaged, unemployed youths
To improve the employability of participants by offering vocational skills training, basic education and health care
YouthBuild U.S.A.
Started in 1978 by a group of young people in NY
Focuses on building or renovating affordable housing and provides educational services
LO3.

21. Question
6. According to work by Gottfredson and colleagues, what is the main difference between school programs that work and those that do not?
a. Targeting an array of important risk factors
b. Increasing school security measures
c. Focusing on the biggest risk factor only
d. Eliminating poorly evaluated teachers

22. Juvenile Justice Today
Jurisdiction over two categories of offenders:
Delinquent offenders
Those who fall under the jurisdictional age limit and commit an act that violates the penal code
Status offenders
Persons in need of supervision (PINS or CHINS)
Age of jurisdiction varies by states
Most states (and the District of Columbia) include all children under 18
Others set the upper limit at age 17, and others set it at under age 16
Juvenile justice systems exist in all states
Juvenile codes and special court structure exists
LO4.

23. Figure 11.2 Case Processing of Typical Violent Crimes in the Juvenile Justice System

24. Juvenile Justice Process
Police Investigation
Have authority to investigate and release or send to juvenile court (file petition)
Detention
If petition is filed, juvenile is referred to court
Decision is then made whether the child should be allowed to remain in the community, or be placed in secure facility
Requires a detention hearing
Pretrial Procedures
Adjudication hearing involves informing juveniles of their rights, voluntary plea, and understanding of charges/consequences of plea
LO4.

25. Question
7. The juvenile justice system exercises jurisdiction over two distinct categories of offenders:
a. Abused and neglected
b. Delinquent and status
c. PINS and CHINS
d. Chronic and deprived

26. Question
8. Which of the following statements about the U.S. juvenile justice system is false?
a. in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, nineteen is the maximum age for a youth to fall under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court
b. most of the nation’s police agencies have juvenile components
c. most children come into the justice system as a result of contact with a police officer
d. none of the above statements are false

27. Juvenile Justice Process, cont.
Adjudication
Trial stage of juvenile court
Juveniles entitled to due process rights at adjudication hearing:
Right to counsel, freedom from self-incrimination, right to confront and cross-examine witness and in some cases, the right to a jury trial
Disposition
If found guilty, decision regarding what treatment child needs should be made
Bifurcated process
Hearing could result in a variety of treatment outcomes
Treatment
After disposition, delinquents may be placed in correctional treatment centers
LO4.

28. Conflicting Values in Juvenile Justice
Treatment vs. Due Process Protection
Focus on treatment often undermines protection of due process
Focus on treatment requires admission of guilt/voluntary surrender of 5th amendment rights
Increase in juvenile crime in 1990s resulted in focus on punishment
Lack of clear/consistent goals in juvenile system
Mixed messages to juvenile offenders
Inconsistent treatment of juvenile offenders
Some suggest abolishing juvenile justice system
LO4.

29. Question
9. Which of the following statements about a detention hearing is true?
a. A detention hearing involves the fact-finding process wherein the juvenile court determines whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain the allegations in a petition
b. A detention hearing is the equivalent of sentencing for adult offenders
c. A detention hearing is normally held to determine whether to remand the child to a shelter
d. A detention hearing finds the child delinquent guilty and the court must decide what should be done to treat the child

30. Question
10. A(n) __________________ for a juvenile is similar to a criminal trial for an adult. a. bifurcated process b. adjudicatory hearing c. disposition hearing d. sentencing hearing

31. Criminal v Juvenile Justice
Many components of these systems are similar
Juvenile court has separate structure
In some areas, juvenile courts are staffed by specialists
Juvenile court seeks to avoid stigma and labeling:
Use of different terms:
Criminal complaint vs. petition, secure pretrial holding facilities vs. detention centers, trial vs. hearing
see Exhibit 11.4 for similarities and differences between juvenile and adult justice systems
LO5.

32. Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Strategy
Focuses on crime prevention and expanding options for dealing with juvenile offenders
Addresses link between crime and poverty, child abuse, drugs, weapons, and school behavior
Components:
Intervention for at-risk teenage youths
Graduated sanction to hold juvenile offenders accountable
Proper utilization of detention and confinement
Placement of serious juvenile offenders in adult courts
Benefits of this strategy:
Fewer youths entering the juvenile justice system
Decreased costs of juvenile corrections
Fewer delinquents becoming adult offenders
LO5.

33. Question
11. If the youth is adjudicated delinquent, the court must decide an outcome or treatment approach; this decision is made during the:
a. adjudication hearing
b. pretrial conference
c. dispositional hearing
d. arraignment

34. Prevention Early risk factors suggesting future delinquency:
Low intelligence, impulsiveness, poor parental supervision, parental conflict, socially disorganized neighborhoods
Prevention of delinquency requires addressing risk factors
Programs shown to be effective in reducing delinquency
Reduce costs associated with delinquency
Public support is high for prevention efforts
Number of promising federal early childhood programs exist:
Head Start
LO5.

35. Deputies Assisting Youth Corps – Current Example
The Prince George’s County Office of the Sheriff in MD launched its Deputies Assisting Youth (D.A.Y.) Corps summer camp program on July 3, The purpose of the program is to promote interaction between middle-school students and deputies and to encourage young people to be good citizens.
Do you believe programs like this will help prevent delinquency? Why or why not?
LO5.

36. Intervention Interventions Graduated sanctions Institutional programs
Focused on youth considered at higher risk for delinquent behavior
Designed to ward off involvement in more serious delinquency
Various programs exist:
Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, CASASTART
Graduated sanctions
Goal is to limit the most restrictive sanctions to the most dangerous offenders, while increasing restrictions/intensity of treatment as offenders move from minor to serious offenses
Institutional programs
Many argue that institutions are over utilized and encourage deinstitutionalization of juvenile offenders
LO5.

37. Alternative Courts Goal is to provide special services to youths
Seek to alleviate case flow problems resulting from overcrowding
Various type of courts exist:
Drug Courts
Focus on providing treatment for juveniles accused of drug-related acts
457 operating in 2010 in 49 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands
Studies show that drug courts are effective in reducing recidivism rates among drug-involved offenders
Teen Courts
Courts that make use of peer juries to decide non-serious delinquency cases
LO5.

38. Future of Juvenile Court
The National Research Council and Institute of Medicine’s Panel on Juvenile Crime expressed concerns:
Juvenile court has assumed many characteristics of adult court
The federal government should assist the states to reduce the use of secure detention and secure confinement
Need to prevent delinquency and intervene with at-risk children and adolescents
It is too soon to write off the rehabilitative ideal
The costs incurred by placing children in more punitive secure facilities outweigh the benefits accrued in crime reduction
LO5.

39. Question
12. Johnny is 13, impulsive, failing school, and is poorly supervised by his parents. He was placed into Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He was matched with a male volunteer who encourages and supports him in various academic ventures and serves as a role model.
Johnny's characteristics are ______________________ that increase the potential for future delinquency.
a. risk factors
b. control factors
c. protective factors
d. suppressive factors

40. Summary
Delinquency prevention aims to reduce the risk factors for delinquency before antisocial behavior or delinquency becomes a problem
There are a number of ways to classify or organize delinquency prevention programs
There are several delinquency prevention programs for children and teens that have proven quite effective
Know the steps in juvenile justice processing
Know the conflicting values in contemporary juvenile justice
Be aware of the comprehensive juvenile justice strategy
Be aware of pressing issues in the future of juvenile justice
LO1-LO5.