Out of Care 30 years on

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Smith

The article recalls the writing of Out of Care, often regarded as a key text for juvenile justice policy and practice in England and Wales in the 1980s. It dispels some misconceptions about the book’s arguments, showing that it argued for a ‘welfare’ rather than a ‘justice’ approach to juvenile offending, and offered a set of prescriptions for face-to-face practice as well as for a critical understanding of the local juvenile justice system. The article acknowledges some contradictions and ambiguities in Out of Care, but shows that it is a mistake to treat it as advocating minimum (as opposed to targeted) intervention, or as arguing that the content of direct work with young people is unimportant. The article traces some of the processes by which the ideas in the book were made available to audiences of practitioners and policy-makers, and how changes in policy in particular local authorities encouraged a wider process of reform.

1993 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
Lynn Atkinson

The first section of the paper makes some observations about young people, crime and the police, and the particular vulnerability of Aboriginal youth coming to the attention of the police. Two issues, the maintenance of public order and juvenile offending, provide the framework for the discussion here. The second section looks at the nexus between the pre-trial conference - a recent innovation in the Children's Court in Perth - police prosecutors, and Aboriginal youth.


2020 ◽  
pp. 001112872095002
Author(s):  
Allison T. Chappell ◽  
Scott R. Maggard

Victimization, mental health problems, and disabilities are associated with an increased likelihood of delinquent behavior, and girls in the juvenile justice system report higher rates of past trauma and victimization, sexual abuse, and mental health issues than boys. However, the influence of these problems on juvenile justice processing remains understudied. This study investigated the impact of victimization, mental health problems, disabilities, and comorbidity on intake and adjudication decisions across gender. Data on 74,636 intake cases were obtained from the centralized database of the juvenile justice office in a mid-Atlantic state (FY 2011–2015). Findings suggest that mental health problems, victimization, and disabilities are associated with increased punitiveness at intake but few consistent gender differences emerged. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Kwame Ame

AbstractIn a country where implementing children's rights in general remains a major challenge, the idea of according rights to children in conflict with the law can be a daunting task. With too many other children's problems to deal with such as the millions of street children and child laborers, female circumcision, and sexual violence against female children, the needs and rights of juvenile offenders could easily be relegated to the bottom of the government's priorities for children. Nonetheless, by virtue of ratifying the UNCRC in 1990, Ghana has made a commitment to address the needs and respect the rights of children in Ghana including its juvenile offenders. Thirteen years after ratifying the CRC, the Ghanaian Parliament passed the Juvenile Justice Act 2003 (Act 653). What rights does the Act accord children in conflict with the law? Do the policies and practices of the new juvenile justice system measure up to the standards of the Convention? These are the key questions addressed in this paper. The paper concludes that vis a vis the CRC, the new Juvenile Justice Act looks good on paper but argues that there is a colossal gap between policy and practice. The paper ends with suggestions on how to effectively protect the rights of children in conflict with the law.


1983 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Krisberg ◽  
Ira Schwartz

Data on juvenile arrests, court processing, and admissions to juvenile correctional facilities offer important information to help rethink juvenile justice policy directions of the last decade. Most striking is the progress in reducing the involvement of status offenders within the juvenile justice system between 1974-1979. Less encouraging is that similar progress was not achieved in the case of delinquent offenders. Moreover, the primary consequence of the removal of status of fenders from the juvenile justice system is the large decline in female admissions to public correctional facilities whereas male admissions were either stable or actually increased from 1974-1979. Also interesting is the levelling off of rates of Part 1 juvenile arrests from 1974-1979: this directly contradicts public perceptions of a steady and alarming increase in serious youth crime.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Cox ◽  
Peter Kochol ◽  
Jennifer Hedlund

Despite an abundance of research on serious and violent juvenile offenders, few studies have linked juvenile offending career categories to juvenile court risk assessments and future offending. This study uses juvenile court referrals and assessment data to replicate earlier categorizations of serious, violent, and chronic offenders; to examine risk and protective score differences across these categories; and to assess whether risk and protective score constructs differentially predict adult criminality across these offender categories. Based on a sample of 9,859 juvenile offenders who aged out of Connecticut’s juvenile justice system between 2005 and 2009, we found that (1) our categorization of juvenile career types mirrored earlier work, (2) comparing risk and protective factors across and within juvenile career types identified distinct patterns, and (3) the juvenile risk and protective assessment subscales were not predictive of adult arrests for chronic offenders but were predictive for nonchronic juvenile career types.


Author(s):  
Christine Kelly

This book explores the history of juvenile justice and the day industrial school movement in 19th-century Scotland. How did Scotland’s criminal justice system respond to marginalised street children who found themselves on the wrong side of the law, often for simple vagrancy or other minor offences? The book examines the historical criminalisation of Scotland’s Victorian children, as well as revealing the history and early success of the Scottish day industrial school movement - a philanthropic response to juvenile offending hailed as 'magic' in Charles Dickens’s Household Words. With case studies ranging from police courts to the High Court of Justiciary, the book offers a lively account of the way children experienced Scotland’s early juvenile justice system.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 781-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terri E Jennings ◽  
Barbara A Lucenko ◽  
Robert M Malow ◽  
Jessy G Dévieux

Previous research conducted to examine the implications of using audio-computerized (A-CASI) procedures to gather sensitive sexual behaviour data has provided mixed results. The purpose of this study was to assess differences in the disclosure of HIV risk behaviours between subjects interviewed face to face and subjects interviewed using A-CASI procedures. An HIV/STD risk of exposure screening instrument was administered to 265 male and female adolescents in the juvenile justice system. T-test analyses revealed that adolescents assessed using A-CASI procedures endorsed fewer items on the HIV/STD screen than those interviewed by an assessor. In addition, those in the A-CASI group endorsed fewer items with explicit sexual or drug content and fewer subtle items. Results of this study suggest that A-CASI may not be suitable for use among adolescents in the juvenile justice system when assessing undesirable and/or illegal behaviours.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 368-377
Author(s):  
Aleksis P. Kincaid ◽  
Amanda L. Sullivan

Youth with disabilities are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, but few studies have investigated the mechanisms by which this occurs. In this study, we considered how juvenile court adjudication and length of commitment in secure facilities contributed to disproportionality in court involvement and detention, addressing an important gap in the intersection of disability and juvenile justice literature. Using linked educational and juvenile justice records of 41,812 youth, we sought to ascertain whether, among juvenile offenders, youth with disabilities had higher likelihood of adjudication as delinquent or placement in secure facilities for longer periods of time compared to youth without disabilities. Results indicated that youth with and without disabilities were adjudicated and placed similarly, suggesting that disparities contributing to overrepresentation of youth with disabilities in detained populations may manifest earlier in youths’ involvement in the justice system. We conclude with implications for research, policy, and practice.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Rodriguez

AbstractIn recent years, we have witnessed various efforts by the federal government to advance our justice system and improve public safety. Collaborations across justice and service agencies and research on what works in criminal justice policy have been central in criminal justice reform activities. Within the juvenile justice arena, reducing rates of victimization and delinquency, as well as implementing strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities remain priorities. In this essay, I discuss how research on neuroscience and brain development, and racial and ethnic disparities in justice system outcomes has informed juvenile justice policy and procedural protections for youth. I also review how school policies and practices can perpetuate racial and ethnic disparities in justice outcomes. Throughout the essay, I discuss the federal government’s role in supporting research to advance policies and practices designed to reduce these harms. I highlight the implications of these activities and ways in which data and research can continue to play a key role in realizing equal opportunity and justice for all youth, especially as they are the most vulnerable members of society.


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