An in-depth analysis of the legal entry points and remedies in the school-to-prison pipeline The "school-to-prison pipeline" is an emerging trend that pushes large numbers of at-risk youth-particularly children of color-out of classrooms and into the juvenile justice system. The policies and practices that contribute to this trend can be seen as a pipeline with many entry points, from under-resourced K-12 public schools, to the over-use of zero-tolerance suspensions and expulsions and to the explosion of policing and arrests in public schools. The confluence of these practices threatens to prepare an entire generation of children for a future of incarceration. In this comprehensive study of the relationship between American law and the school-to-prison pipeline, co-authors Catherine Y. Kim, Daniel J. Losen, and Damon T. Hewitt analyze the current state of the law for each entry point on the pipeline and propose legal theories and remedies to challenge them. Using specific state-based examples and case studies, the authors assert that law can be an effective weapon in the struggle to reduce the number of children caught in the pipeline, address the devastating consequences of the pipeline on families and communities, and ensure that our public schools and juvenile justice system further the goals for which they were created: to provide meaningful, safe opportunities for all the nation's children.

A revolutionary book that offers a fresh, bold approach to confronting the juvenile crime epidemic With the rise of violent crimes committed by teenagers in recent years, heated discussion has arisen over the societal factors that lead to juvenile criminality and the ways that public institutions are failing to curtail them. Now a team of experts with decades of collective hands-on experience present a book that cuts through the hype and paranoia to offer real solutions. Drawing on actual case studies, Dispatches from Juvenile Hall shows how conventional ?tough on crime? tactics have only worsened the problem, and presents a new blueprint for change that incorporates punitive action, rehabilitation, and family intervention?a progressive program that will encourage and enlighten all those concerned about the future of our youth.

Gang activity and related violence threaten public order in a diverse range of communities in the United States today. Congress has long recognised that this problem affects a number of issues of federal concern, and federal legislation has been introduced in the 110th Congress to address some aspects of the issue. Youth gangs have been an endemic feature of American urban life. They are well attested as early as the 18th century and have been a recurrent subject of concern since then. Contemporary views of the problem have been formed against the background of a significant adverse secular trend in gang activity during the last four decades. In particular, the rapid growth of gang membership, geographical dispersion, and criminal involvement during the violent crime epidemic; associated with the emergence of the crack cocaine market during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s; have intensified current concerns. The experience of those years continues to mark both patterns of gang activity and public policy responses toward them. Policy development and implementation in this area are be-devilled by discrepant uses of the term "gang" and the absence of uniform standards of statistical reporting. There are reasons for special care in the use of data on gangs and their activity. Without a standardised definition of what is meant by "gang", such as the age group or activities engaged in by its members, or standardised reporting among the state, local, tribal, and federal levels of government, it is difficult to target anti-gang initiatives and evaluate their effectiveness. According to a national gang survey, the most recent estimate indicates that there were about 760,000 gang members in 24,000 gangs in the United States in 2004. This book provides background information on the issue of youth gangs, including data on gangs and gang crime. It reviews existing anti-gang initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels, and describes some of the legislation proposed during the 110th Congress to address the gang problem, as well as some of the issues raised by those bills.

Gang activity and related violence threaten public order in a diverse range of communities in the United States today. Contemporary views of the problem have been formed against the background of a significant adverse secular trend in gang activity during the last four decades. In particular, the rapid growth of gang membership, geographical dispersion, and criminal involvement during the violent crime epidemic -- associated with the emergence of the crack cocaine market during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s -- have intensified current concerns. The experience of those years continues to mark both patterns of gang activity and public policy responses toward them. This book provides background information on the issue of youth gangs, including data on gangs and gang crime. It reviews existing anti-gang initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels, and describes some of the legislation proposed to address the gang problem, as well as some of the issues raised by those bills.

Fresh out of college, David Stuart put off graduate school to take a job close to his West Virginia home as a counselor at the Youth Development Center at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Known locally as the Morganza, the facility was founded in the nineteenth century as a farm for orphaned boys. By the 1960s, the Morganza had long been burdened with a sinister reputation when it was converted into a detention center for Allegheny County youth convicted of crimes ranging from petty theft to armed robbery, rape, and murder. Reporting for duty during the racially turbulent and riot-torn summer of 1967, Stuart describes the life of students and staff in what was, in reality, a youth prison camp.
Confronted with the glaring shortcomings of the reform school's methods of rehabilitation, Stuart irritated the bureaucracy, advocating for detainees whose only crimes were a lack of education and belonging to the wrong race or economic class. He confronted an establishment that refused to distinguish between hardened criminals and those who would benefit from actual reform. In "The Morganza, 1967" Stuart offers a brutally honest--at times touching--insider's view of a juvenile justice system that was badly in need of fixing.

Despite the fact that media bombard the public with the notion that sex offenders are everywhere-and could be just next door-official sources show that official sex offense rates have been steadily declining over the past 10 years. Yet, when a juvenile is accused of a sexually-based crime, media attention is swift and relentless. The truth about juvenile sex offenders is often, therefore, misunderstood. In many cases, such offenders are victims themselves. Here, Gibson and Vandiver reveal the truth about juvenile sex offenders and what can be done to help them and to prevent the cycle of abuse that leads to such tragic outcomes. This book sets the records straight about juvenile sex offending. It provides accurate, up-to-date statistics, real life cases, and information about offender characteristics, victim characteristics, family factors, social issues, media involvement, and other related areas. It offers explanations for juvenile sex offending from a variety of perspectives and reviews legal and criminal responses to the problem. Included are discussions of female offenders, punitive measures to prevent repeat offenses, and other steps the federal government and individual states are taking to address the problem. The authors conclude with advice on how to protect children from becoming victims and how to prevent sexual offending in the first place.

After decades of rigorous study in the United States and across the Western world, a great deal is known about the early risk factors for offending. High impulsiveness, low attainment, criminal parents, parental conflict, and growing up in a deprived, high-crime neighborhood are among the most important factors. There is also a growing body of high quality scientific evidence on the effectiveness of early prevention programs designed to prevent children from embarking on a life of crime.
Drawing on the latest evidence, Saving Children from a Life of Crime is the first book to assess the early causes of offending and what works best to prevent it. Preschool intellectual enrichment, child skills training, parent management training, and home visiting programs are among the most effective early prevention programs. Criminologists David Farrington and Brandon Welsh also outline a policy strategy--early prevention--that uses this current research knowledge and brings into sharper focus what America's national crime fighting priority ought to be.
At a time when unacceptable crime levels in America, rising criminal justice costs, and a punitive crime policy have spurred a growing interest in the early prevention of delinquency, Farrington and Welsh here lay the groundwork for change with a comprehensive national prevention strategy to save children from a life of crime.

This book presents a detailed and comprehensive critical analysis of evidence on adolescent research from leading international scholars. It explores the prevalence, nature, and trend of juvenile delinquency among Koreans as well as various western countries. It provides information on the socio-cultural contexts related to juvenile delinquency, aggression and violent behaviour among adolescents, substance abuse and delinquency, intra-familial child abuse in South Korea and other western countries. The authors also suggest these problems as a major social issue and present these issues in Korea and its cross-cultural comparison. This book is an ideal textbook for those who wish to explore the nature, trend, prevalence of juvenile delinquency and its cross-cultural comparison.

A refined young lady stands proudly in front of the mirror in her bedroom remembering the teachers and parents who told her she'd never amount to anything. She herself even doubted, at one time, that she would ever overcome her addictions. It's the '80s: Stefany reaches puberty and begins to compare her lifestyle to other people she comes in contact with. She is faced with the cruelties of childhood and begins looking for an outlet. Media influence, gang activity is on the rise, and the pregnancy rate is the highest in their district. Stefany's teachers notice a change in her behavior when she walks into her eighth-grade class with makeup on her face, tight jeans and a nasty attitude. Society is rapidly changing for the worst. Young ladies were acting out more aggressively than the young men, and parents couldn't prepare for what was to come. ************ Stefany's downfall is a chain reaction. Reverend Sowell is sickly and Mrs. Sowell cannot control her. After her father's death, her sister Elaine, living in North Carolina, suggests to their Mother that she put their apartment building up for sale, and move Stefany there. The change is good, however, she picks up some of her old bad habits, despite her family's efforts to steer her in the right direction. She eventually gets a job, graduates from high school, and is accepted into a historically black university where she faces more challenges. Stefany eventually develops self -love and continues striving for success. She finally matures and goes back to her church roots. Through her transformation, she discovers what really matters in life. *Note: Names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.

Youth Justice is a key area of the current governments criminal justice policy in England and Wales. It has been the subject of an inordinate amount of recent legislation seeking to enhance the criminal courts powers to punish and prevent offending and re-offending by young people. This legislation attempts to prevent offending through criminal justice measures and there is little attempt to use non-criminal or civil law procedures to achieve the same result. This book seeks to challenge that focus and to question why delinquency in young people has been so firmly criminalized in this jurisdiction. The book addresses the consequences of criminalization in terms of the effectiveness of the measures used as well as the implications for the social construction of youth and childhood and our attitudes towards the young. Criminalization of young peoples behaviour results in them being labeled as criminal,losing identity as an individual, losing their childhood through the process of taking adult responsibility for their actions and, in policy terms, becoming viewed as a crime problem rather than as a product of failing social policy regarding employment, education and youth culture. At a society level it is contended that the identification of young people with criminal activity and the negative public image that results creates a culture of fear and distrust which may in turn create further possibilities for criminalization of their behaviour. A comparative perspective in this work examines welfare-based responses to youth crime in other European jurisdictions and questions whether the criminal justice process is an appropriate context in which to deal with young peoples problematic behaviour. This book has been shortlisted for the 2007 SLSA Book Prize.

After decades of rigorous study in the United States and across the Western world, a great deal is known about the early risk factors for offending. High impulsiveness, low attainment, criminal parents, parental conflict, and growing up in a deprived, high-crime neighborhood are among the most important factors. There is also a growing body of high quality scientific evidence on the effectiveness of early prevention programs designed to prevent children from embarking on a life of crime.
Drawing on the latest evidence, Saving Children from a Life of Crime is the first book to assess the early causes of offending and what works best to prevent it. Preschool intellectual enrichment, child skills training, parent management training, and home visiting programs are among the most effective early prevention programs. Criminologists David Farrington and Brandon Welsh also outline a policy strategy--early prevention--that uses this current research knowledge and brings into sharper focus what America's national crime fighting priority ought to be.
At a time when unacceptable crime levels in America, rising criminal justice costs, and a punitive crime policy have spurred a growing interest in the early prevention of delinquency, Farrington and Welsh here lay the groundwork for change with a comprehensive national prevention strategy to save children from a life of crime.

The image of the violent, anti-social gangster is part of the American landscape, often romanticised and glamorised by popular culture. Gang activity in the United States has been traced to the early 19th century when youth gangs emerged from some immigrant populations. Now, as then, gangs provide identity and social relationships for some young people who feel marginalised by the dominant social, economic and cultural environments in which they live. Gangs, however, are not simply a "street family" to some of the nation's disenfranchised. As distinguished by the U.S. Department of Justice, "a group must be involved in a pattern of criminal acts to be considered a youth gang." Between 1980 and 1996, the U.S. experienced significant growth in youth gangs, when the number of cities and jurisdictions that reported gang problems rose from 2863 to approximately 4,800 From 1996 through 1998 the growth seemed to slow down, but according to the 1999 National Youth Gang Survey, the number of gang members is again on the rise.

In his engaging narrative history of the rise and workings of America's first juvenile court, David S. Tanenhaus explores the fundamental and enduring question of how the law should treat the young. Sifting through almost 3,000 previously unexamined Chicago case files from the early twentieth century, Tanenhaus reveals how children's advocates slowly built up a separate system for juveniles, all the while fighting political and legal battles to legitimate this controversial institution. Harkening back to a more hopeful and nuanced age, Juvenile Justice in the Making provides a valuable historical framework for thinking about youth policy.

Howard Williamson's 'Five Years' was a ground-breaking study of youth, poverty and crime in the 1970s. At its close, the boys he interviewed were left with few prospects and bleak futures. Twenty-five years later, Williamson returns to find out the sort of men these boys have become and narrates their stories in this extraordinary book.Of the original group of sixty-seven boys, seven are dead -- not one of natural causes. Williamson tracked down half of those remaining. Here they tell of their personal, family and social relationships, legal and illegal work, their experiences of the criminal justice system, and money. Contrary to what one might expect, their lives are startlingly diverse.The Milltown Boys Revisited is a riveting account of life on the edge during the Thatcher and Blair governments. It tells stories of dignity, human betterment and escape, of fatalism on the margins of criminal and drug cultures, and also of getting by in difficult circumstances. It is as much a celebration of individual resilience as an account of risk and vulnerability in the lives of the dispossessed.

Volume 31 of "Crime and Justice" presents a global view on youth justice systems, examining Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and an aggregation of Western countries. The systems are addressed in five sections, which discuss the relevance of a separate youth justice system, age limitations, historical stability and changes, welfare concerns, and a comparative look at current laws as written and administered.
Contributors:
Hans-Jorg Albrecht
Anthony Bottoms
James Dignan
Anthony N. Doob
Carl-Gunnar Janson
Josine Junger-Tas
Britta Kyvsgaard
Allison Morris
Julian V. Roberts
Jane B. Sprott
Lode Walgrave

As juvenile justice dominates the headlines, the time has come to reexamine the history of this controversial institution. In Transforming Juvenile Justice, Steven L. Schlossman traces the evolution of the idea that young lawbreakers, or potential lawbreakers, merit special treatment. He closely examines the Milwaukee Juvenile Court and the Wisconsin State Reform School to reveal how Progressive theory-the belief that rehabilitation and careful oversight should replace punishment of delinquent youth-played out in practice. Since its original publication in 1977, Schlossman's history of the juvenile justice system contributed to the debate on the delinquency problem and remains a landmark study today. In an engaging new introduction for this fresh edition of his classic, Schlossman reveals his sources of inspiration and relates his discovery of the rare records that offered an exclusive glimpse into the Milwaukee court's day-to-day operations. His account of the changing definitions of delinquency and reformers' attempts to remedy it offers insights on dilemmas that continue to plague American society.

Juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice are two essential topics in the criminal justice curriculum. Sanborn and Salerno's The Juvenile Justice System: Law and Process is dedicated solely to explaining juvenile justice.
This text explores the many differences between the juvenile justice and the criminal justice systems, both those that benefit youths and those that are arguably unfair to them. The book concentrates, describes, and explains the unique traits of juvenile justice and what makes it so different from criminal justice.
The Juvenile Justice System specifically addresses what actually happens during the court process, devoting an entire chapter to the adjudicatory hearing as well as all other major decision-making stages. A unique feature is its in-depth coverage of plea bargaining. Also featured are topics such as parental role in the juvenile justice system, school searches, and the origin of juvenile court.
Another unique benefit of this text is the Numbers section at the end of several chapters, detailing how many youths have been affected by various decisions made in the juvenile justice system (such as arrest, detention, transfer to adult court, adjudication, being placed on probation, or committed to residential placement). In addition, the appendices identify juvenile justice standards for all 50 states and Washington, DC, as well as the federal jurisdiction. These standards apply to all decisions made within the juvenile justice system, including arrest, detention, diversion, intake, transfer, adjudication, disposition, and postdispositional stages.
The text is written in a conversational, reader-friendly style. Each chapter describes and analyzes, step by step, what young alleged offenders experience in each successive stage of the court process. For each chapter, outlines of key terms and concepts aid student comprehension and serve as a starting point for class discussion. Each chapter also features discussion questions designed to stimulate students' critical thinking.
A comprehensive Instructor's Manual/Testing Program is available, and an interactive Student Study Guide is included with each copy of the book.

"Tried as an adult." The phrase rings with increasing frequency through America's courtrooms. In Michigan, an 11-year-old is charged with first-degree homicide in the shooting death of a playmate. A mentally disabled boy in Florida faces armed robbery and extortion charges that could bring 30
years in prison for stealing $2 worth of food. Faith in childhood, and its corollary that separate courts are required for children because they are developmentally different from adults, appears to be vanishing. Almost forgotten in this climate--in which a New York Times' headline boldly announced
that the "Fear of Crime Trumps the Fear of Lost Youth"--is the fact that the juvenile court is one of America's most influential legal inventions.
Long before the crimes of the young became a national preoccupation, Americans struggled with many of the same questions posed by today's aggressive sentencing of minors. What is the legal status of children? Does a particularly horrific crime merit a commensurately severe response, regardless of
the age of the offender? Who belongs in juvenile court, and what is its exact purpose?
In his engaging narrative history of the rise and workings of America's first juvenile court, David S. Tanenhaus explores the fundamental and enduring question of how the law should treat the young. Sifting through almost 3,000 previously unexamined Chicago case files from the early twentieth
century, Tanenhaus reveals how children's advocates slowly built up a separate court system for juveniles, all the while fighting political and legal battles to legitimate this controversial institution. In the process, the juvenile court became a catalyst for thedevelopment of the American welfare
state, the medicalization of child rearing, and the beginnings of innovative community organizing programs.
Today, as America's treatment of juvenile offenders becomes increasingly draconian, the United States, once a leader in the international crusade to secure justice for children, is now in this respect effectively a rogue nation. Harkening back to a more hopeful and nuanced age Juvenile Justice in
the Making provides a valuable historical framework for thinking about youth policy.

An uncompromising look at the rise of violent crimes by America's children and the steps parents, teachers and mentors can take to save our children.

Including chapters on current methodology in reducing delinquency, families in relation to delinquency and advances in working with delinquents, this book offers a clear insight into this complex area whilst offering practical problem-solving advice.

`An excellent reader. It contains all the basic ingredients of a superb teaching book with the qualities of a thought-provoking text.... Should be required reading for all students of criminal justice policy and it will be a valuable teaching resource for all those involved in the delivery of courses on young people, justice and punishment' - Punishment and Society

`This is a valuable student text; carefully collated and with an abuntant array of material... and will surely become a widely used course reader. For the practitioner and general reader it is a book to dip into, a means to access debates and remind oneself of the ebb and flow of policy' - Youth Justice

Youth Justice brings together for the first time the most influential international contributors to the emergent field of youth justice studies.

Youth Justice provides:

· a critical introduction to the intellectual reframing of the history, theory, policy and practice of youth justice.

· an essential resource of key debates and controversies from across the range of disciplines engaged in the study of youth in the social sciences

· editorial essays at the beginning of each substantive section of the

volume

· specially commissioned chapters at the end of each section, which place the readings in their theoretical and historical context.

The Reader is the set text for The Open University course, Youth Justice, Penality and Social Control (D864).

This text is part of the Readings in Crime and Punishment series, a line of readers covering many aspects of the criminal justice, police, and correctional systems. In Readings in Juvenile Justice Administration, Barry C. Feld selects articles written by noted experts in the field, examining the juvenile justice system, focusing on juvenile courts, and the judicial, administrative, and correctional systems for the social control of criminal and non-criminal juvenile offenders. Feld considers legal and sociological aspects of juvenile justice administration, concentrating on causes of youth crime and development of juvenile offenders. Ideal for courses in the juvenile justice system and juvenile justice.

This work examines the links between educational failure and future offending behaviour. It contains the stories of inmates' schooldays told in their own words as they try to answer the question "could anything have been done to prevent you being in custody now?" The book ends with suggestions on action schools might take towards redressing social, cultural and educational disadvantage and intervening to help limit future offending behaviour.

"A marvelous exploration of the connections between culture and behavior in modern America....[The author] deeply illuminates our understanding of the contemporary US."--William M. Tuttle, Jr., University of Kansas