NCJ Number
165044
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1996) Pages: 3-21
Date Published
1996
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This analysis of Illinois juvenile transfer legislation shows that the current automatic transfer provisions are inefficient, since they fail to identify serious violent juvenile offenders, result in lengthy and costly pretrial detention, and unjustly impact many youth who do not pose a threat to community safety.
Abstract
The study examined the juveniles who were subject to automatic transfer to adult criminal court and who passed through the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center from November 9, 1992, through March 1, 1994. In this 16-month period, 334 juveniles subject to automatic transfer passed through the detention center. The data show that a significant proportion of the juveniles were not charged with a serious felony and did not receive time in State corrections. Nearly 40 percent of the youths were transferred to adult criminal court based on a drug or weapon-possession offense. Nearly half of the cases transferred to adult court were dismissed or resulted in a sentence of probation. Of the 262 youths for whom racial data were available, 94.7 percent were African-American or Latino. The study concludes that Illinois should develop a new procedure for juvenile transfer. Examples of effective approaches are cited from New Mexico, Minnesota, Kansas, and Connecticut. 10 tables and 55 notes