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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Grant No. 97-JN-FX-0020 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, and grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Harry F. Guggenheim Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Juvenile crime, juvenile justice / Joan McCord, Cathy Spatz Widom, and Nancy A. Crowell, editors.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-06842-8 (hardcover)
1. Juvenile delinquency—United States. 2. Juvenile justice, Administration of—United States. I. McCord, Joan. II. Widom, Cathy Spatz, 1945- . III. Crowell, Nancy A.
HV9104 .J832 2001
364.36′0973—dc21
2001001248
Suggested citation: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2001) Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Panel on Juvenile Crime: Prevention, Treatment, and Control. Joan McCord, Cathy Spatz Widom, and Nancy A. Crowell, eds. Committee on Law and Justice and Board on Children, Youth, and Families. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Additional copies of this report are available from:
National Academy Press
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Printed in the United States of America
Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
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PANEL ON JUVENILE CRIME: PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND CONTROL
JOAN MCCORD (Cochair),
Department Criminal Justice, Temple University
CATHY SPATZ WIDOM (Cochair),
School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany
PATRICIA COHEN,
New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University
ELIZABETH JANE COSTELLO,
Duke University Medical Center
EUGENE EMORY,
Department of Psychology, Emory University
TONY FABELO,
Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council, Austin
LAWRENCE GARY,
School of Social Work, Howard University
SANDRA GRAHAM,
Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles
JOHN HAGAN,
Department of Sociology, Northwestern University
DARNELL HAWKINS,
African American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
KENNETH LAND,
Department of Sociology, Duke University
STEVEN SCHLOSSMAN,
Department of History, Carnegie Mellon University
MERCER SULLIVAN,
School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University
HON. VIOLA TALIAFERRO,
Monroe Circuit Court VII, Bloomington, IN
RICHARD TREMBLAY,
Research Unit on Children's Psycho-Social Maladjustment, University of Montréal
FRANKLIN ZIMRING,
School of Law, University of California, Berkeley
HON. CINDY LEDERMAN (liaison from the Board on Children, Youth, and Families),
Juvenile Division, Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, Dade County, FL
DANIEL NAGIN (liaison from the Committee on Law and Justice),
Carnegie Mellon University
Nancy A. Crowell, Study Director
Melissa Bamba, Research Associate
Brenda McLaughlin, Research Assistant (after 8/12/2000)
Glenda Tyson, Project Assistant (until 4/6/1999)
Karen Autrey, Senior Project Assistant (after 4/6/1999)
COMMITTEE ON LAW AND JUSTICE 1999-2000
CHARLES WELLFORD (Chair),
Center for Applied Policy Studies and Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland
JOAN PETERSILIA (Vice Chair),
School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine
ALFRED BLUMSTEIN,
H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University
RUTH M. DAVIS,
The Pymatuning Group, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia
JEFFREY FAGAN,
Schools of Law and Public Health, Columbia University
DARNELL HAWKINS,
Department of African American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
PHILIP HEYMANN,
Center for Criminal Justice, Harvard Law School
CANDACE KRUTTSCHNITT,
Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota
MARK LIPSEY,
Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University
COLIN LOFTIN,
School of Criminal Justice, The University at Albany
JOHN MONAHAN,
School of Law, University of Virginia
DANIEL S. NAGIN,
H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University
PETER REUTER,
Department of Criminology and Research, University of Maryland
WESLEY SKOGAN,
Department of Political Science and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University
KATE STITH,
School of Law, Yale University
MICHAEL TONRY,
Institute of Criminology, Cambridge University
CATHY SPATZ WIDOM,
Departments of Criminal Justice and Psychology, University at Albany
CAROL PETRIE, Director
NANCY A. CROWELL, Staff Officer
MELISSA BAMBA, Research Associate
RALPH PATTERSON, Senior Project Assistant
BRENDA M C LAUGHLIN, Research Assistant
LECIA HENDERSON, Project Assistant
BOARD ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES 2000
EVAN CHARNEY (Chair),
Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts
JAMES BANKS,
Center for Multicultural Education, University of Washington
SHEILA BURKE,
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
DAVID CARD,
Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
DONALD COHEN,
Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale University
MINDY FULLILOVE,
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University
KEVIN GRUMBACH,
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Primary Care Research Center, University of California, San Francisco
MAXINE HAYES,
Department of Community and Family Health, Washington State Department of Health
MARGARET HEAGARTY,
Department of Pediatrics, Harlem Hospital Center, Columbia University
RENEE JENKINS,
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University
SHEILA KAMERMAN,
School of Social Work, Columbia University
HARRIET KITZMAN,
School of Nursing, University of Rochester
SANDERS KORENMAN,
School of Public Affairs, Baruch College
HON. CINDY LEDERMAN,
Circuit Court, Juvenile Justice Center, Dade County, Florida
SARA McLANAHAN,
Office of Population Research, Princeton University
VONNIE MCLOYD,
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan
GARY SANDEFUR,
Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
RUTH STEIN,
Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
PAUL WISE,
Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
RUTH T. GROSS (liaison from IOM Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention),
Department of Pediatrics (emeritus), Stanford University
ELEANOR E. MACCOBY (liaison from Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education),
Department of Psychology (emeritus), Stanford University
WILLIAM ROPER (liaison from IOM Council),
Institute of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Michele D. Kipke, Director
Mary Graham, Associate Director of Dissemination and Communications
Mary Strigari, Administrative Associate
Preface
When this project was in its planning stages, the violent juvenile crime rate was rising and some criminologists were predicting a coming wave of violent juvenile “superpredators.” Policy makers at the state and federal levels responded by imposing tougher sanctions on juveniles and facilitating the move of younger juveniles into the adult system for a broad range of offenses. Over the course of this panel study, rates of juvenile violence have dropped considerably, but policies continue to increase the number of young people who become involved in the juvenile justice and adult criminal justice systems, at the same time that prevention programs are being cut back.
The Panel on Juvenile Crime: Prevention, Treatment and Control was established by the National Research Council under the aegis of the Committee on Law and Justice, in the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. The task this panel undertook was a large one— analyzing data on trends in juvenile crime and juvenile justice system processing; reviewing both the literature on individual, familial, social, and community factors that contribute to juvenile crime and that on prevention and treatment programs; and examining information that could shed light on the effects of mandates of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. When we began the study, we were aware that other reports on juvenile crime had recently appeared and that others would appear during the course of our work. By assembling a panel with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, our goal was to take a fresh look
at the research on juvenile crime in order to point the way toward more effective policies based on empirical evidence and to highlight areas in need of more research. Our ultimate goal is to assist youth in leading constructive lives and to protect the public from juvenile crime.
The panel met six times over the course of the study, with active deliberations both during and between meetings. The panel also heard from many experts, visited juvenile detention and correctional facilities, analyzed available data, reviewed numerous articles and books, and commissioned several papers as part of its work. The researchers and agency personnel who provided input into the process are listed by name and affiliation in the Acknowledgments.
Joan McCord, Cochair
Cathy Spatz Widom, Cochair
Panel on Juvenile Crime:
Prevention, Treatment and Control
Acknowledgments
The panel gratefully acknowledges the sponsorship of this study by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program of the U.S. Department of Education, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. Much assistance in shaping this project was provided by staff at these organizations, in particular: Charlotte Kerr, Betty Chemers, and Shay Bilchik, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice; Ann Weinheimer, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, U.S. Department of Education; Laurie Garduque, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and Karen Colvard, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
The panel drew on the expertise of many people during the course of its information gathering. The panel extends its thanks to Elmar G.M. Weitekamp, Hans-Juergen Kerner, and Gernot Trueg of the Institute of Criminology, University of Tuebingen, Germany, for a background paper on international comparisons of juvenile justice systems; Robert Worden and Stephanie Myers of the Department of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, for providing the panel with a background paper on police encounters with juveniles; and Patricia L. McCall of North Carolina State University, for assisting panel member Kenneth Land with the paper on crime forecasting that appears in Appendix B of this report; Gary Gates of Carnegie Mellon University, who assisted panel member Steven Schlossman in analyzing historical data on juvenile delinquency and
involvement in the adult criminal and juvenile justice systems; and Amie Schuck and Jorge Chavez of The University at Albany for assisting panel cochair Cathy Spatz Widom with an analysis of data on racial disproportionality in the juvenile justice system. Special thanks are also extended to Howard Snyder, of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, for sharing some of his analyses of juvenile arrest data; Rolf Loeber, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, for providing the committee with materials presented to the OJJDP Study Group on Very Young Offenders and for sharing the literature review from his grant application to NIMH on the development of conduct disorders in girls; and to Linda Teplin, Northwestern University, for sharing the literature review from her grant application to the National Institute on Mental Health on mental health problems among incarcerated female juveniles.
The panel would also like to acknowledge the following people for giving presentations at panel workshops and meetings:
David Altschuler, Institute for Policy Studies, The Johns Hopkins University
Mark Berends, RAND Corporation, Washington, DC
Donna Bishop, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, University of Central Florida
Hon. Jay Blitzman, Juvenile Court Department, Watertown, Massachusetts
George Bridges, Offfice of Undergraduate Education, University of Washington
Ted Chiricos, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University
Philip Cook, Terry Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
John Devine, School of Education, New York University
Mary Didier, United States Sentencing Commission, Washington, DC
Thomas Dishion, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon
Carol Dweck, Department of Psychology, Columbia University
Delbert Elliott, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder
Doris Entwisle, Department of Sociology, The Johns Hopkins University
Jeffrey Fagan, Schools of Law and Public Health, Columbia University
Barry Feld, School of Law, University of Minnesota
Lawrence Greenfeld, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC
David Harris, College of Law, University of Toledo
Philip Harris, Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University
Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri, St. Louis
David Kennedy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Mark Lepper, Department of Psychology, Stanford University
Mark Lipsey, Institute for Public Policy Studies, Vanderbilt University
Rolf Loeber, Western Psychiatric Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Holly MacKay, United States Sentencing Commission, Washington, DC
Ellen Markman, Department of Psychology, Stanford University
Ken Maton, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Steven Messner, Department of Sociology, The University at Albany
Gale Morrison, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside
Stephanie Myers, School of Criminal Justice, The University at Albany
William Oliver, Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University
Daphna Oyserman, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Howard Pinderhughes, Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Gregory Pettit, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University
Ira Schwartz, School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania
Laurie Schwede, Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC
Margaret Beale Spencer, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
Howard Snyder, National Center for Juvenile Justice, Pittsburgh, PA
Laurence Steinberg, Department of Psychology, Temple University
Cynthia Stifter, Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University
Kenneth Trump, National School Safety and Security Services, Cleveland, Ohio
Lee Underwood, The Pines Residential Treatment Center, Portsmouth, Virginia
Robert Worden, School of Criminal Justice, The University at Albany
The panel is grateful to the following individuals who hosted site visits and shared their firsthand experience with juvenile justice system programs with panel members and staff:
Nancy Arrigona, Criminal Justice Policy Council, Austin, Texas
Judy Briscoe, Texas Youth Commission
Thomas Chapmond, Community Initiatives for Program Development, Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
Stan DeGerolami, Giddings State School, Giddings, Texas
Hon. John K. Dietz, Travis County Juvenile Board, Austin, Texas
Mike Griffiths, Dallas County Juvenile Probation Department, Dallas, Texas
Dawn Heikkila, Criminal Justice Policy Council, Austin, Texas
Laura King, Southeast Austin Community Youth Development program
Vance McMahan, Governor's Policy Office, Austin, Texas
Estela Medina, Travis County Juvenile Probation Department, Austin, Texas
David Montague, Tarrant County Chief Juvenile District Attorney, Fort Worth, Texas
Ron Quiros, Travis County Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program, Austin, Texas
David Riley, Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department, San Antonio, Texas
Linda Smith, Giddings State School, Giddings, Texas
Vicky Spriggs, Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
Johnny Sutton, Governor's Policy Office, Austin, Texas
Don Willett, Governor's Policy Office, Austin, Texas
Thanks and acknowledgment are due to the members of the study panel, all of whom gave generously of their time. Tony Fabelo graciously arranged a site visit to various juvenile detention and correctional facilities in Texas, as well as setting up meetings with a number of juvenile justice system officials. Patricia Cohen arranged a site visit to a correctional facility in New York state. Several members took primary responsibility for drafting sections of the report. We wish to thank Jane Costello for her contributions to the compound risk analysis in Chapter 6; Sandra Graham for her contributions to the section on school-related factors in Chapter 3 and school-based prevention programs in Chapter 4; Darnell Hawkins for his assistance with Chapter 6; Steven Schlossman for his analyses of historical data that appear throughout the report; Mercer Sullivan for his contributions to the section on community factors in Chapter 3; Richard Tremblay for his contributions to individual developmental factors in Chapter 3 and prevention programs in Chapter 4. Finally, we would like to thank the National Research Council staff for valuable assistance with this project: project assistant Glenda Tyson and senior project assistant Karen Autrey, for facilitating the panel's meetings; project assis-
tant Lecia Henderson, for preparing the manuscript for publication; research assistant Brenda McLaughlin, for assisting in gathering materials for response to review; research associate Melissa Bamba, for helping to organize workshops and pulling together research materials for the panel; study director Nancy Crowell for analyzing crime data and turning the panel's writing contributions into a coherent whole; and CBASSE editor Christine McShane, whose editing of this report made it much more readable.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council (NRC). The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Donald Cohen, Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale University; David Farrington, Institute of Criminology, Cambridge, England; Barry C. Feld, Law School, University of Minnesota; Peter W. Greenwood, RAND, Santa Monica, California; Richard Jessor, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado; Mark Lipsey, Institute of Public Policy Studies, Vanderbilt University; Rebecca Maynard, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania; N. Dickon Reppucci, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia; and Richard Rosenfeld, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Mark H. Moore, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and Henry W. Riecken, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (emeritus). Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring panel and the institution.
While the individuals listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, it must be emphasized that responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.