Canada’s Juvenile Justice System: Promoting Community-Based Responses to Youth Crime

From the time the first US training school for girls was opened in 1856 to today, girls have been over-represented in the juvenile justice system for behaviors that stem from trauma, and the justice system has been used to promote a narrow and typical view of female gender-conforming behavior. This chapter examines the pathways girls and LGBTQ youth take into and through the juvenile justice system to show disparate impact on black girls, girls with child-welfare histories, girls who experience violence in their homes, girls with mental and behavioral health issues, and girls and LGBTQ youth who are victims of sex trafficking. In all these categories, best practices would reduce juvenile and criminal justice system involvement in favor of community-based, positive developmental solutions. Some of those more promising and evidence-based solutions are provided at the conclusion of the chapter.

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Should We Give Up Reform?

Crime & Delinquency ◽

10.1177/0011128784030003006 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 415-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Shirley M. Hufstedler

Keyword(s):

Juvenile Justice ◽

Justice System ◽

Juvenile Justice System ◽

Juvenile Court ◽

Cost Effective ◽

National Council ◽

Community Based ◽

Proper Role ◽

Crime And Delinquency

This article is an expanded version of an address given before the 1984 Conference: “Rethinking Juvenile Justice,” sponsored by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. The article traces the evolution of the Juvenile Court and discusses the pressures placed upon the juvenile justice system at the same time it punishes, incapacitates and reforms youthful offenders. The author challenges juvenile justice planners to develop humane, cost-effective, and community-based alternatives as a means of reducing the current confusion over the proper role of the juvenile court.

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Diminishing Returns? Threshold Effects of Dispositions and Recidivism Among Court-Involved Girls

Criminal Justice and Behavior ◽

10.1177/00938548211003119 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 009385482110031

Author(s):

Nicole C. McKenna ◽

Valerie R. Anderson

Keyword(s):

Juvenile Justice ◽

Justice System ◽

Juvenile Justice System ◽

Juvenile Court ◽

Threshold Effect ◽

Threshold Effects ◽

Community Based ◽

Court Records ◽

Court Involved ◽

The Impact

This study examines juvenile court responses among justice-involved girls. We analyze 10 years of court records on girls ( N = 1,102) from a Midwestern juvenile court to assess the impact of various aspects of placements and dispositions on recidivism outcomes. We explore how the number of dispositions girls receive, the type of disposition, and type of placement affect 2-year recidivism. Our findings indicate there may be a threshold effect to receiving dispositions—receiving three or more dispositions was significantly related to increased recidivism. Furthermore, the combination of receiving both treatment and sanction dispositions was significantly related to an increased likelihood of recidivism. Girls who received only community-based placements were more likely to recidivate than those who did not receive any dispositions. This study advances our understanding of court responses to girls and how these responses influence girls’ experiences and outcomes while involved with the juvenile justice system.

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