Involvement in the Juvenile Justice System for African American Adolescents: Examining Associations with Behavioral Health Problems

While researchers have found that African American youth experience higher levels of juvenile justice involvement at every system level (arrest, sentencing, and incarceration) relative to their other ethnic counterparts, few studies have explored how juvenile justice involvement and number of contacts might be correlated with this broad range of problems. A convenience sample of 638 African American adolescents living in predominantly low-income, urban communities participated in a survey related to juvenile justice involvement. Major findings using logistic regression models indicated that adolescents who reported juvenile justice system involvement versus no involvement were 2.3 times as likely to report mental health problems, substance abuse, and delinquent or youth offending behaviors. Additional findings documented that the higher the number of juvenile justice system contacts, the higher the rates of delinquent behaviors, alcohol and marijuana use, sex while high on drugs, and commercial sex. These findings suggest that identifying and targeting youth who have multiple juvenile justice system contacts, especially those in low-resourced communities for early intervention services, may be beneficial. Future research should examine whether peer network norms might mediate the relationships between juvenile justice involvement and youth problem behaviors.     

Multi-system factors impacting youth justice involvement of children in residential out-of-home care

Children placed in residential care are significantly over-represented in youth justice systems. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with service providers, this exploratory study examines practice factors that impact on the criminalization of this group of children across multiple services and systems, including in the residential care environment, police, lawyers, courts and youth justice systems, as well as multi-systems practice with this group in one Australian state. Positive outcomes were observed for children in residential care where well-functioning care teams existed, as well as for children in therapeutic residential care settings. However, clear limitations were identified across all phases of children's youth justice system involvement, including placement with offending peers, the criminalization of behaviours of concern, greater use of remand and detention, limited support to navigate legal and youth justice processes, challenges to service collaboration, and limited applicability of sentencing considerations. The findings indicate a pervasive level of systemic disadvantage for this group of children, and imply that a holistic strategy underpinned by affirmative action across several systems will be necessary to address the ongoing criminalization of children in residential care.     

The Criminal Justice System and the Politics of Scrutiny

The criminal justice system remains largely untouched by over a decade of scrutiny and restructuring of public services by consecutive Conservative administrations. This is despite the system's lack of accountability, absence of clear objectives, prolific unfettered spending patterns, and discrepancies in its treatment of suspects and offenders at all stages of the prosecution process as witnessed by regular and embarrassing “mishaps”. This paper explains the apparent contradictions in the New Right's social policy agenda showing how the overtly Thatcheritepolicies of “law and order” with its own brand of moral authoritarianism continues to immunize and protect the professional players on the criminal justice stage from the policies of scrutiny and consequent change. Ironically, it is argued, criminal justice and penal policy is one area of social policy where the machinery of appraisal, audit and management by objectives would be highly beneficial. Paul Wilding provided stimulating and helpful comments on the first draft of this paper and Howard Parker helped me to keep the contradictions of the system as the theme of the paper.     

American Juvenile Justice: Recent Trends and Issues in Youth Offending

Trends in juvenile offending in the United States since the 1970s are reviewed. Serious youth violence, co-occurring mental health and substance abuse problems among offenders, female delinquency, and other issues currently confronting the American juvenile justice system are examined. Policy considerations associated with recent trends in juvenile offending among American youth are identified.     

Young Adult Outcomes of Juvenile Court–Involved Girls

ABSTRACT

The recent increase in the number of girls involved in the juvenile justice system has resulted in increased academic and public attention. Thus far, this attention has focused on entry into the juvenile justice system rather than longer-term consequences. This research helps fill this gap by examining a sample of 700 maltreated and/or impoverished juvenile court–involved females. Competing risks models were used to control for time from juvenile-court entry to adult outcomes: criminal justice system involvement, use of public mental health or substance use services, and income maintenance use. Results indicate that there are distinct predictors associated with the different outcomes, although learning disability and adolescent parenthood were associated with higher risk of both mental health/substance use services and income maintenance. Individualized services for juvenile court–involved girls are suggested. Prospective, longitudinal research is needed to investigate intrapsychic and behavioral dynamics associated with females' young adult outcomes.     

Restorative justice for juvenile offenders in China: Current practices and challenges

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, restorative justice has gained considerable recognition worldwide and has become a prominent option for diverting juveniles away from the traditional criminal justice system as well as delivering fair and just outcomes in the justice process. This paper provides an overview of how the criminal justice system operates for juvenile offenders in the People’s Republic of China (hereafter, China). Based on a sophisticated literature review of recent Chinese academic journal articles on restorative justice for juveniles, the paper presents an analysis of the characteristics and operational procedures of current practices. Deficits and potential future developments pertaining to Chinese restorative practices for delinquents are also discussed.     

Restorative justice for delinquents in Hong Kong: current practices and challenges

ABSTRACT

In Hong Kong, juvenile justice embraces mainly disciplinary welfare and rehabilitative philosophies. Various statutory measures are applied to juvenile offenders, including police cautioning, community-based treatment programmes and custodial sentencing options. However, no statutory restorative measure has yet been incorporated into the mainstream criminal justice system in Hong Kong. Several non-governmental organisations are developing innovative strategies to prevent problematic adolescents from slipping into delinquency and are willing to apply restorative practices to help delinquents desist from engaging in criminal careers. This study begins with main features of restorative justice, and it highlights the preventive and correctional services for delinquents in Hong Kong. The study also questions the explanations offered by the government for not implementing restorative justice. By comparing restorative options for juveniles in some Asian jurisdictions, the study advocates for an earlier introduction of restorative justice for the benefits of juvenile offenders.     

Exploring the Impact of School Discipline on Racial Disproportion in the Juvenile Justice System*

It is widely recognized that African‐American youth are significantly overrepresented in many juvenile justice systems relative to their population percentages. Research has also determined that similar disproportion exists in school discipline and speculated about a “school‐to‐prison pipeline” for minority youth. Objective. This study explores empirically the degree to which disciplinary decisions made in schools can help to explain observed rates of disproportionate minority contact with juvenile courts. Methods. It does so in an assessment of education and justice system data from a sample of counties in Missouri. Results. The findings suggest that racial disproportion in out‐of‐school suspensions, which cannot be explained solely by differences in delinquent behavior, is strongly associated with similar levels of disproportion in juvenile court referrals. The association between disproportionate patterns of school discipline and court referrals persists after controlling for poverty, urbanization, and other relevant factors. Conclusions. The implication is that school‐based programs that offer alternatives to suspension and expulsion and promote disciplinary equity may help alleviate racial disproportion in the juvenile justice system.     

Professionals' perceptions of offending in children's residential care

This paper reports on and discusses the results of part of the author's PhD study. It focuses on professionals' perceptions of the factors that contribute to young people in residential children's homes coming to the attention of the criminal justice system, with consideration given to how such perceptions might impact on responses to the young people. As part of a case study of a particular local authority area, the author undertook semi‐structured interviews and a focus group with 31 professionals from the care and criminal justice systems. The implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.     

The service system challenges of work with juvenile justice involved young people in the Hunter Region,Australia

Current policies suggest that collaborative approaches are core to working effectively with juvenile justice involved young people. However, there is little research examining the workings of multi‐agency and collaborative endeavours in this field, or the experiences of the human service workers facilitating these connections. This paper reports on qualitative research that resulted from the Juvenile Justice and Education Equity in the Hunter Region project. Thirty‐eight human service workers were interviewed about their perceptions of the workings, strengths and challenges of the service system that supports young people who come into contact with the Children's Court in the Lower and Upper Hunter regions of New South Wales. Data analysis revealed three key themes related to (1) service gaps, cycles and maelstrom; (2) pursuing authentic service engagement; and (3) insider–outsider dynamics in service provision. Findings are discussed in relation to emerging practice and research agendas.     

Individual Development Account Participation and Social Development among Native Hawaiians

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study using grounded theory to investigate how 14 Asian youth cope with the criminal justice system in Canada. Coping with a spoiled self is the main theme discovered in this study. The discovery of this main theme has the following implications for social work practice: (a) asian youth at different stage of crime involvement requires different focus of intervention; (b) family connection is considered very important regardless the degree of crime involvement of these youth; (c) gang exit strategy should be included in intervention plan; and (d) ethnicity of helping professionals is not a major concern for Asian youth in seeking help.     

Aborigines and the Police: Unlawful Assembly,Affray and the Incidents at Taree

A near-riot situation between Aborigines and the police in Taree, a mid-north coast town in NSW, resulted in criminal charges of an unusual nature being laid against numerous Aboriginal defendants. The convictions and conditions attaching to them were even more unusual. The antipathy of police towards Aborigines seems to derive from a persistent negative stereotyping. These attitudes plus the appalling factors of unemployment, overcrowding, and alcoholism, tend to inflame anti-Aboriginal feeling. The law is, in turn, viewed with cynicism by under-educated people for whom legal processes, and the administration of justice, are tools of repression.     

The Life and Death of the Care Order (Criminal)

Professor Robert Harris, Department of Social Policy and Professional Studies. The University of Hull. Hull, HU6 7RX. Summary This paper traces the life history of the care order (criminal)from its inception in the 1969 Children and Young Persons Actto its abolition in the 1989 Children Act. It is argued thatthe care order (criminal) is a microcosm of the central ambiguityof the juvenile justice system, and that its history accordinglymirrors that of juvenile justice itself. An empirical studyis then reported which demonstrates that the role of the provisionsince 1983 has been complex, but that it has catered for threedistinct groups of offenders, of whom only one poses a policyproblem. The ‘residence requirement’ solution tothis problem in the 1989 Children Act is welcomed as havinga better chance of sustaining the different tasks of the juvenilejustice system.     

First Names and Crime: Does Unpopularity Spell Trouble?*

Objective. We investigate the relationship between first name popularity and juvenile delinquency to test the hypothesis that unpopular names are positively correlated with crime. Methods. To compare the names of juveniles in a state's population with the names of juveniles who received substantiated charges in that state's juvenile justice system, we construct a popularity name index. Regression analysis is used to examine the relationship among names, crime, and socioeconomic background of juveniles. Results. The distribution of first names in the state's population is different from the names of juvenile delinquents. Our results show that unpopular names are positively correlated with juvenile delinquency for both blacks and whites. Conclusions. Unpopular names are likely not the cause of crime but correlated with factors that increase the tendency toward juvenile delinquency, such as a disadvantaged home environment and residence in a county with low socioeconomic status.     

Addressing the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Examining Micro- and Macro-Level Variables that Affect School Disengagement and Subsequent Felonies

Abstract

This study examines the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP) by identifying individual legal and extra-legal variables and school-level factors that predict juvenile/criminal justice involvement using 2006–2012 matched data from education and justice systems (n?=?21,457). The role of school disengagement is also assessed, measuring unexcused absences that follow suspensions in the previous academic year. For the court-involved subsample (n?=?7349), after controlling for student behavior, demographic, and school-level factors; extra-legal racial differences remain a significant factor in determining higher counts of felonies with African American and Multi-racial students at increased likelihood (1.65 and 1.86 times, respectively for the higher latent class) of juvenile/criminal justice involvement as compared with White students. And, although White students were found to either be more disengaged or equally disengaged when compared with students of color, sharp differences in criminal justice involvement and outcomes exist by race/ethnicity. These findings suggest that addressing the STPP will require future research and focus on more than individual-level behaviors (school disengagement and school-based offenses) and attention to the impact of extra-legal variables and systemic implicit bias.     

The over-representation of indigenous children in the Australian child welfare system

Similar to other wealthy countries with colonised indigenous populations, Australia's indigenous children, those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are seriously over-represented in the child welfare system. The specific dimensions of this problem warrant detailed examination. It is useful to consider factors such as rates of entry to care, length of stay and the nature of services provided in order to understand the problem more fully. This article uses child protection, out-of-home care and juvenile justice administrative data to examine the levels of disproportionality at key decision points in the child welfare system. The data show that child welfare interventions are persistently more intrusive for indigenous children, and that levels of disproportionality have not improved over time. More comprehensive child and family welfare policies are needed to address indigenous disadvantage. Despite calls by indigenous community agencies for more input to decision-making, their participation in the Australian child welfare system remains marginal.     

From the Editor

The impact of homicide on the families of the victims is investigated. Efforts by a voluntary agency to serve these families are described with particular attention to group work as part of an array of social services. A major consideration in the practice approach is the family's involvement with the criminal justice system.     

“未成年人”的“生”与“死”——以美、日为借鉴的社会学研究

本文尝试以美、日两国的法制史、社会史为基础论述少年司法制度的社会历史生成机理,并指出有关少年司法、“未成年人”的问题意识的形成都是特定社会背景下的产物。书写文化的出现使得儿童与成人之间产生了质的区分,而工业化、城市化和核心家庭则改变了人们看待儿童的方式,由此现代儿童得以发明。未成年人以现代儿童为蓝本被创造,构成了少年司法制度的基本预设和实践基础。随着新的媒介环境和个体化趋势的展开,儿童自身和人们看待儿童的方式都发生了改变,直接导致了未成年人形象的消解,进而促成了两国少年司法的成人化。     

Criminal defendants’ family and the death penalty in China - a case analysis

ABSTRACT

The restorative justice movement has increased the rights of consciousness for crime victims and their families globally. Though the practice of family group conferences in Australia and New Zealand and the court-ordered mediation programmes in China have increasingly involved defendants and their families, their roles in the criminal justice system have not been the main focus of academic inquiries. Citing a high-profile capital case in China, the Nian Bin case, this study examines the defendant family’s strategies in seeking legal redress, managing physical, emotional and financial tolls as well as coping with the victim families, throughout their eight-year pursuit of Nian’s exoneration. Given Confucian teachings on the importance of family to the individual and the society at large, this study provides a microscopic view into various precipitating factors for a capital defendant’s family activism. It also draws broader implications for China’s criminal justice reforms and the restorative justice movement.     

美国少年司法变迁中的正当法律程序改革及其借鉴

美国传统少年司法曾经长期不受正当法律程序的约束,这样的特例被认为是为了有利于保证罪错少年获得最有利的处遇。但这样的观念和实践在1967年高尔特案件后开始改变,罪错少年也逐步获得了类似成年罪犯那样的正当法律程序权利的保障。与美国少年司法进行正当法律程序改革之前相似,中国目前对于具有严重不良行为的少年的处置,同样基本上没有任何正当法律程序的保障,这样的状况急需改变。