From Juvenile Delinquency to Adult Crime

Abstract

Why do many juveniles stop offending when they grow up? Why are juvenile delinquents dealt with differently in the courts than adult criminals, and should young adults be dealt with differently than older adults? And what is special about the 18th birthday when the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system in most states and most European countries, offering protection and rehabilitation, ends and the more punitive and less rehabilitative criminal justice system for adults starts? Since most juveniles take longer than age 18 to mature and become less impulsive, what is a more realistic distinction between adolescence and adulthood and justice response to adolescents and young adults? These and many other questions pertaining to the transition between adolescence and adulthood are addressed in this volume. The volume is based on hundreds of scientific studies, which are summarized in 11 chapters. The chapters deal with criminal careers, particularly desistance from and persistence in offending, explanatory factors of persistence and desistance, such as, for example, early individual differences in self-control, brain maturation, social risk and protective factors, mental illnesses, changes in life circumstances, neighborhood factors, and juvenile justice response. The volume also highlights the best evaluated and cost-effective programs that prevent juveniles from becoming persistent offenders in adulthood, and reduce recidivism among known delinquents. Finally, the volume addresses the advantages and disadvantages of legislators increasing or decreasing the age of adulthood with an eye on improving public safety.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 194 citations exist upstream.