Chapter 14: Contemporary juvenile justice

Abstract

Chapter 14 describes contemporary juvenile justice in terms of its structure and process – how the different elements of juvenile justice are organized and how they operate. In a formal sense, the juvenile justice system is comprised of police, courts, and corrections; however, a substantial amount of delinquency is dealt with informally, sometimes by agencies not usually considered a part of the “system.” We begin by describing how juvenile justice is not really a “system” at all, but rather a highly decentralized and fragmented array of both public and private agencies. Moreover, each element of juvenile justice exercises tremendous discretion and relies on diversion to operate efficiently. Of central importance to contemporary juvenile justice is disproportionate minority contact – the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with officials at various points along the juvenile justice process, from arrest to confinement. The bulk of the chapter examines informal and formal procedures of contemporary juvenile justice – law enforcement, juvenile courts, and juvenile corrections.

Key Terms

• discretion
• diversion
• disproportionate minority contact
• protective role
• taking into custody
• crime-fighting role
• collaborative role
• law-enforcer role
• search and seizure
• arrest
• custodial interrogation
• referral
• intake
• petition
• informal disposition
• detention
• adjudication
• formal disposition
• predisposition report
• commitment
• probation conditions
• probation supervision
• revocation
• residential placement
• group homes
• custodial institutions
• aftercare
• parole

Outline

1. Structure of juvenile justice systems: decentralized and fragmented
2. Juvenile justice process: discretion, diversion, and disproportionate minority contact
   1. Discretion and diversion
   2. Disproportionate minority contact
3. Policing juveniles
   1. Cops and kids: the police role
      1. Parens patriae policing: the original protective role
      2. Professional policing: the crime-fighting role
      3. Community-oriented policing: the collaborative role
      4. Getting tough: the law-enforcer role
   2. Discretion and diversion in juvenile law enforcement
      1. Factors influencing the use of discretion
   3. Due process in juvenile law enforcement
      1. Search and seizure
      2. Arrest
      3. Custodial interrogation
4. Juvenile court processes: informal and formal
   1. Referral to juvenile court
      1. Delinquency cases in juvenile courts: extent, trends, age, gender, race
   2. Intake and petition
      1. Petition: extent, trends, age, gender, race
   3. Detention
      1. Detention: extent, trends, age, gender, race
      2. Detention reform
   4. Transfer to criminal court
      1. Judicial waiver: extent, trends, age, gender, race
   5. Adjudication
      1. Adjudication: extent, trends, age, gender, race
   6. Formal disposition
      1. Disposition: extent, trends, age, gender, race
5. Juvenile corrections
   1. Juvenile corrections and the rehabilitative ideal
   2. Probation
      1. Probation conditions
      2. Probation supervision
      3. Revocation
      4. Intensive probation supervision
   3. Community-based corrections
      1. Balanced and restorative justice
   4. Residential placement
6. Summary and conclusions