Should Criminologists Shift Their Focus Away From Juvenile Delinquency?

Abstract

This issue of the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology shows the journal’s true international character: The authors are from the United States, Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Spain, and South Korea. The issues raised in the articles cover a broad spectrum. They encompass the use of modern technology to prevent crime (Burraston, Bahr, & Cherrington), the prediction of violent sex and other offenses (Laubacher, Rossegger, Endrass, Angst, Urbaniok, & Vetter), psychopathy among juvenile sex offenders (Morrell & Burton), factors related to witnessing of violence (Sherer & Sherer), the relationship between physical and psychological violence and psychopathology (Silva, Grana, & Gonzalez-Cieza), and the relationship between school performance and the likelihood of arrest (Yun, Cheong, & Walsh). Despite this diversity of the topics, all the articles focus on youth. Thus, they are typical for the field of criminology: Various aspects of juvenile delinquency are and always have been a central topic of our discipline. Arguably, the majority of the most influential publications in criminology are about young people. This type of research has also substantially contributed to the development of criminological theories. There are strong reasons for this focus. It is during adolescence that people usually begin to commit crimes. In most individuals, crime also culminates during this period of life. From a preventive point of view, youths are considered to be important. It is generally believed that if these young people have not gone too far in negative development, there should still be time for change! All of these arguments are reasonable, and the articles in many publications, such as those presented in this issue, show that it is possible to conduct interesting and relevant research on youths and crime. However, one may wonder if the criminological focus on youth is not too extensive. It is (as we know from self-report studies) very common for young people to offend. Most young people are never caught for their offenses, are never given any formal sanction, continue to live their lives—often with few more delinquent acts—and eventually grow up to be normal, honest citizens. Some of them may even become criminologists. Viewed from this perspective, juvenile delinquency is a fairly undramatic part of becoming an adult.