Juvenile Justice: An Introduction, Fifth Edition.

Source: (2006) Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.

Fourteen chapters comprise the textbook, which is written for use in an undergraduate survey course on juvenile justice. The first chapter presents an overview of juvenile delinquency, examining its prevalence and contributing factors, while the second chapter discusses the development of the juvenile justice system and the early workings of the system. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on the main biological, psychological, and sociological perspectives that have been used to explain juvenile delinquency while chapter 5 focuses specifically on the problem of gang delinquency. The connection between juvenile delinquency and drug use is addressed in the sixth chapter while chapter 7 explores the main debates concerning the policing of juveniles. Chapter 8 describes the major decision points in the juvenile court process, chapter 9 debates the due process rights of juvenile offenders, and chapter 10 critically examines public and private juvenile institutional correctional interventions. The effectiveness of both traditional and nontraditional community interventions for juvenile offenders is explored in chapter 11 while chapter 12 describes restorative justice practices, particularly in terms of their effectiveness in dealing with juvenile delinquency. Chapter 13 explores the victimization of juveniles, examining its prevalence, the responses of victims, and the role of formal social control agencies in responding to juvenile victimization, and chapter 14 closes the textbook with a consideration of several proposals for the future of the juvenile court system, which the authors argue is currently in a state of crisis. Discussion questions and key terms are presented in each of the chapters to guide class discussions and assignments. Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov.