After an overview of the nature of the popular knowledge and sociological knowledge of delinquency in Canada, a historical perspective on state justice for juveniles in Canada focuses on the historical status of children and youth and the legal regulation of juveniles as viewed through the concepts of conflict theory. A chapter critiques the validity of anomie and strain theories of delinquency based on official delinquency statistics. Control theory and the gender factor in explaining delinquency are critiqued along with self-report delinquency as the basis for examining delinquency. An examination of symbolic interactionist theories of delinquency is followed by a discussion of the impact of school dynamics on the formation of delinquent behaviors. The final two chapters examine the structure and dynamics of the Canadian juvenile justice system and also recent Canadian juvenile justice reforms. The book suggests a theoretical synthesis to explain delinquency in Canada. The synthesis draws heavily on recent neo-Marxist developments in proposing that delinquency and its sanctioning be reformulated around the constitution of juveniles as legal subjects within agencies of the capitalist state, involving the political socialization of hegemony through and against working class consciousness. 530-item bibliography and subject index.