This book provides a comprehensive, cutting-edge look at the problems that impact the way we conduct intervention and treatment for youth in crisis today—an indispensable resource for practitioners, students, researchers, policymakers, and faculty working in the area of juvenile justice.Understanding Juvenile Justice and Delinquency provides a concise overview of the most compelling issues in juvenile delinquency today. It covers not only the range of offenses but also the offenders themselves as well as those impacted by crime and delinquency. All of the chapters contain up-to-date research, laws, and data that accurately frame discussions on youth violence, detention, and treatment; related issues such as gangs and drugs; the consequences for scholars, teachers, and students; and best practices in intervention methods.The book's organization guides readers logically from the broader definitions and parameters of the study of juveniles to the more specific. The volume leads with an explanation of the relationship between victimization and juvenile behavior and sets up boundaries of the arenas of delinquency—from the family to the streets to cyberspace. The book then focuses on more specific populations of offenders and offenses, including recent, emerging issues, offering the most accurate information available and cutting-edge insight into the issues that affect youth in custody and in our communities.
Marilyn D. McShane, PhD, is professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston.Michael R. Cavanaugh, PhD, is assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Houston.
PART I: THE CHANGING BOUNDARIES OF JUVENILE JUSTICE ISSUES1. Maltreatment and Delinquency: Breaking the Cycle of OffendingAlida V. Merlo and Peter J. Benekos2. Juveniles in Cyberspace: Issues in Enforcement and Parental ControlsMing Li Hsieh, Marilyn D. McShane, and Frank P. Williams III3. Juvenile Prostitution and Safe Harbor LawsStephanie FahyPART II: COMMUNITIES AND INSTITUTIONS: PROBLEMS AND RESPONSES TO DELINQUENCY4. Drugs in Homes, Schools, and CommunitiesMarcos Misis5. School Searches: Balancing Delinquency and PrivacyMichael CavanaughPART III: KEEPING YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS OUT OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM6. Childhood Trauma: The Effects of Abuse and HomelessnessTraqina Emeka7. Children of Incarcerated Parents: Problems and ResilienceAlexandria Pech and Barbara E. Bloom8. Autism Spectrum Disorders and Juvenile Justice: The Myths of Perpetrators and VictimsRebecca PfefferPART IV: RACE, ETHNICITY, DELINQUENCY, AND JUSTICE9. Acculturation, Ethnic Bias, and Explanations of DelinquencyAntonio Hernandez and Judith Harris10. When Minority Exceeds Majority: Understanding and Addressing Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice SystemJohn K. MooradianPART V: ADMINISTERING JUSTICE: THE RESPONSIBILITY TO INTERVENE AND TREAT11. Juvenile Incarceration: Risks and RemediesMelanie Taylor and Sarah Thomas12. What Works with Juveniles Offenders?Clete Snell and Janet Eguzouwa13. The Future of Delinquency Prevention and TreatmentRonald Burns and Kendra BowenEpilogueAbout the Editors and ContributorsIndex
"This book functions as both an assessment and a proposal for change. . . . Overall [the editors] are succinct, persuasive, and provide compelling evidence for their analysis and ideas. . . . Each chapter does an excellent job at underlining thefact that the criminal justice system is flawed and unfair to juveniles. . . . A significant contribution to adolescent studies." - Journal of Youth and Adolescence