INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF JUVENILE TRANSFER TO ADULT COURT ON FIRST OFFENSE AND RECIDIVISM AMONG JUVENILE OFFENDERS: A
LITERATURE REVIEW RELEVANT TO THE PROBLEM TO BE INVESTIGATED THROUGH THE PROPOSED STUDY
A research study has been proposed that will investigate the effect of juvenile transfer to adult court on first offense and recidivism rates among juvenile offenders. This paper presents the finds of a review of literature relevant to the problem that will be investigated in the propose study.
Criminal anti-social behavior on the part of youth in the United States is shockingly high and, in relation to some offenses, is increasing in frequency. Persons under the age of 18 years old are responsible for approximately 32 percent of serious property crimes that are cleared by arrest and for approximately 17 percent of violent crimes cleared by arrest. In the instance of serious crime committed by young offenders, the types of crimes and the characteristics of the individuals committing the offenses are largely known. Approximately seven-percent of all juvenile delinquency referrals to juvenile courts involved violent crime. More than one-half of all serious offenses committed by juveniles were committed by approximately eight-percent of the juvenile population (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004).
Between 1995 and 2002, to illustrate the character of the problem, the proportion of persons arrested for the offense of murder under the age of 18 years old increased from approximately eight-percent to approximately 15 percent, an increase of 87.5 percent. The violent crime arrest rate for all persons increased from approximately 210 per 100,000 population in 1995 to approximately 290 per 100,000 population in 2002 รน an increase of 38 percent over the period. At the same time, however, the violent crime arrest rate for persons aged 10-to-17 years old increased from approximately 305 per 100,000 population in 1995 to ...