CJ 2460 - Juvenile Justice

Juveniles are accorded a special status in the American criminal justice system. At the same time, they also account for a disproportionate amount of crime committed. Preventing delinquent and criminal behavior and responding to its occurrence are matters of concern to society at large and to the criminal justice system in particular. This course will examine the historical precedents and philosophical reasons for treating juveniles differently from adults and review empirical evidence about child development that can illuminate the reasons for their special status within the system. Students will learn about the distribution of juvenile delinquency according to both official statistics and self-report data and learn about the impact of significant social and institutional influences on delinquency: including family, school, peers and drugs. The major theories that have been proposed as explanations of delinquent behavior will be reviewed and evaluated based on the research conducted to test each theory. Offered every other year. Credits: 4