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Race and the Impact of Juvenile Deinstitutionalization

NCJ Number
96744
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 31 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1985) Pages: 35-46
Author(s)
M A Bortner; M L Sunderland; R Winn
Date Published
1985
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examines a juvenile court's compliance with the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP), which requires complying States to deinstitutionalize juvenile status offenders, and the differential processing of juveniles at three junctures within the juvenile court process (pretrial detention, intake screening, and final disposition) is addressed.
Abstract
The court studied is located in a large, affluent metropolitan area with a population of 989,000. An overall comparison of the precompliance sample (1973-74) and the postcompliance sample (1976-77) indicated little change in the processing of status offenders. Prior to deinstitutionalization, detention (1973-74) and the postcompliance sample (1976-77) indicated little change in the processing of status offenders. Prior to deinstitutionalization, detention was more likely for black juveniles than for whites and more likely for females than for males. Further, in the precompliance period, the relationship between race and the screening decision was significant: formal hearings were more likely for blacks than for whites and more likely for females than for males. Also, during the precompliance period, black juveniles were more likely than white juveniles to receive severe dispositions. Comparison of the precompliance and postcompliance samples showed an overall trend toward less secure detention, a greater use of informal processing (outside of the formal courtroom setting), and less severe dispositions for all juveniles referred to the court. Analysis indicates systematic differential treatment based on race but not on gender. Thirty-three references and one table are included.