When contrasting the juvenile justice response to juvenile delinquency and related youth problems, significant differences were found in the two systems. The juvenile justice system in Austria is very centralized. Austria has a Federal policy system, Federal courts, and a Federal correctional system for juveniles. This has resulted in policies and procedures being determined at central government levels, and a more formal approach towards dealing with youth crime problems. In contrast, the United States has a fragmented system. The police, courts, and most of the correctional programs for youth, are administered at the local level. The juvenile justice system interfaces with additional agencies including private and public youth services agencies, and educational institutions. The police, prosecutors, and judges have a great deal of discretion in their decisionmaking. This article is a comparative analysis of the manner in which police respond to juvenile crime and misbehavior in Austria and in the United States. Specifically, it focuses on when and how the police or other functionaries of the juvenile justice system perform their official duties as mandated by the laws of the two countries and the regulations and policies of the agencies involved. The analysis examined police organization, police work with juveniles, statistics on youth crimes, community policing, the juvenile justice legal systems, juvenile justice system coordination, and police work in schools. References