Youth, crime, and justice : a global inquiry / Clayton A. Hartjen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hartjen, Clayton A., 1943-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Juvenile delinquency--Cross-cultural studies.

Juvenile delinquency.

Juvenile corrections--Cross-cultural studies.

Juvenile corrections.

Genre:

Cross-cultural studies.

Physical Description:

xix, 198 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, [2008]

Summary:

Close to half of the world's population is below the age of criminal jurisdiction in most countries. Many of these young people are living in poverty and under totalitarian regimes. Given their deprived and often abject circumstances, it is not surprising that many of them become involved in crime.

In Youth, Crime, and Justice, Clayton A. Hartjen provides a broad overview of juvenile delinquency: how it manifests itself around the world and how societies respond to misconduct among their children. Taking a global, rather than country-specific approach, chapters focus on topics that range from juvenile laws and the correction of child offenders to the abuse, exploitation, and victimization of young people. Hartjen includes specific examples from the United States, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan, India, Egypt, and elsewhere as he sorts through the various definitions of "delinquent" and explores the differences in behavior that contribute to these classifications. Most importantly, his in-depth and comparative look at judicial systems worldwide raises questions about how young offenders should be "corrected" and how much fault can be laid on misbehaving youths acting out against the very societies that produced them.

Contents:

1 Law 1

Age of Responsibility 2

Jurisdiction 9

Forms of Behavior 14

Rights 17

2 Explaining Delinquent Acts 23

Major Theories 23

Peers and Delinquency 26

Lack of Control 28

One-Time versus Chronic Offenders 30

Other Ideas 32

3 The Global Extent and Distribution of Delinquency 36

Measuring Rates 36

Problems with Measures 37

Global Rates of Delinquent Behavior 45

Explaining Rates 55

4 Forms of Delinquent Behavior 62

Gangs 63

Violence 71

Drugs 74

5 Justice for Juveniles 84

General Approaches 85

Models of Juvenile Justice 86

Juvenile Justice as Welfare 86

Legalism and Due Process for Juveniles 91

Coordinated Processing 94

6 Processing the Offender 98

Processing Systems 98

Key Players in the Game of Juvenile Justice 106

Critical Processing Stages 109

7 Correcting Juveniles 117

Dispositions 117

Punishing Children 120

Treating, Educating, and Training the Delinquent 130

8 Children as Victims 139

Defining Victimization 140

Abuse 141

Neglect 146

Sexual Victimization 149

Institutional Victimization 155

Explaining Victimization 157

9 Some Concluding Observations 161

What We Know 162

Some Speculations 166

Toward a Global Understanding 167.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-192) and index.

ISBN:

9780813543215

0813543215

9780813543222

0813543223

OCLC:

166317493