Juvenile Justice Research Articles

Legal Protection for Children Perpetrating Crimes of Terrorism Based on Law Number 5 of 2018 in Indonesia

This article aims to determine the form of legal protection for children who are perpetrators of criminal acts of terrorism in Indonesia as regulated in Law Number 5 of 2018 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Terrorism. This is based on the phenomenon of children's involvement in acts of terrorism in Indonesia in recent years. The author uses a juridical-normative approach to analyze the problem of forms of legal protection for children who commit terrorism. The research results show that Law No. 5 of 2018 does not specifically regulate children who are perpetrators of terrorism and Indonesia uses the Child Protection Law and the Juvenile Justice System Law as instruments for handling children who are perpetrators of terrorism.

Are Schools Stricter at the Border? Investigating the Relationships Between School Strictness, Juvenile Justice, and the Border

ABSTRACT Immigration disparities are associated with strict school climates and juvenile justice. Place also matters concerning school strictness and disproportionate minority contact for minority youth. What remains unknown is the relationship between school strictness, immigration, and punishment along the Texas-Mexico border. Drawing from the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), we address two questions regarding the relationship between school strictness and juvenile justice referrals in border and non-border schools. First, do the relationships between school strictness and juvenile referrals differ between border and non-border schools? Second, does school strictness moderate the children of immigrants’ juvenile justice referrals at border and non-border schools? Findings indicate border and non-border distinctions regarding both strict and lenient school disciplinary practices and the relationships with juvenile justice referrals. This study contributes to juvenile justice research by investigating potential links between school strictness, immigration, juvenile justice referrals, and place.

The prevalence and risk factors of conduct disorder among juvenile delinquents in China

Conduct disorders (CDs) are common in juvenile justice cases, but their prevalence varies across regions. It is useful to help people comprehend the incidence and risk factors for CDs in the judicial environment. To determine the prevalence of CDs among juvenile delinquents in China and explore the risk factors for CDs in terms of demographic characteristics, individual characteristics, and social environmental factors. A total of 545 male juvenile delinquents and 297 typically developed adolescents from China were recruited for this study. The Conduct Disorder Screening Form was used to assess the symptoms of CD, and related measurements, including the Demographic Questionnaire, Short-Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran for Chinese (s-EMBU-C), the Short Form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), the Parental Monitoring Scale, the Deviant Peer Affiliation Scale, the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU), the Self-Control Scale (SCS), and the Moral Disengagement Scale (MDS), were carried out. Among the juvenile delinquents, 58.7% met the symptoms of CD, with adolescent-onset CD accounting for 90.94% of these cases. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of CD between the criminal group and the illegal group, but the criminal group scored higher on aggression than the illegal group. The adolescents with CDs differed from the typically developed adolescents in demographic characteristics, parenting style, individual characteristics, and deviant peer affiliation. Discriminant analysis revealed that deviant peer affiliation had the greatest impact on the CDs of adolescents (structural matrix = 0.85), followed by the level of parental monitoring and moral disengagement. CD is widespread in Chinese juvenile delinquents. CD symptoms differ between criminal and illegal juvenile delinquents. Risk factors such as deviant peer affiliation, inadequate parental monitoring, moral disengagement, and low parental warmth all contribute to the high prevalence of CD.

Effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of youth-initiated mentoring for juvenile delinquents: a multiple-methods study protocol

BackgroundThe societal costs associated with juvenile delinquency and reoffending are high, emphasising the need for effective prevention strategies. A promising approach is Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM). In YIM, professionals support youths in selecting a non-parental adult from within their social network as their mentor. However, until now, little (quasi-)experimental research has been conducted on YIM in the field of juvenile delinquency. We will examine the effectiveness, working mechanisms, and implementation of YIM as a selective prevention strategy for juvenile delinquents.MethodsThis multiple-methods study consists of a quasi-experimental trial and a qualitative study. In the quasi-experimental trial, we aim to include 300 juvenile offenders referred to Halt, a Dutch juvenile justice system organisation which offers youths a diversion program. In the Netherlands, all juvenile offenders between 12 and 18 years old are referred to Halt, where they must complete the Halt intervention. Youths will be non-randomly assigned to region-matched non-YIM-trained and YIM-trained Halt professionals implementing Care as Usual (CAU, i.e., the Halt intervention) or CAU plus YIM, respectively. Despite non-random allocation, this approach may yield comparable conditions regarding (1) the characteristics of professionals delivering the intervention and (2) case type and severity. Youth and caregiver(s) self-report data will be collected at pre-and post-test and a 6-month follow-up and complemented with official Halt records data. Multilevel analyses will test whether youths following CAU plus YIM show a stronger increase in resilience factors and a stronger decline in the need for formal support and delinquency than youths following CAU. In the qualitative study, we will organise focus group interviews with YIM-trained professionals to explore boosters and barriers experienced by professionals during the implementation of YIM.DiscussionThe proposed study will help identify the effectiveness of YIM in strengthening resilience factors and possibly decreasing juvenile delinquency. In addition, it may offer insights into how and for whom YIM works. Finally, this study can help strengthen the implementation of YIM in the future.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.Gov (# NCT05555472). Registered 7 September 2022. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05555472?cond=Youth+Initiated+Mentoring&draw=2&rank=1.

Pathways to—But Not Through? Revisiting the Trauma and Recidivism Relationship Among System-Involved Youth

Research has demonstrated that exposure to traumatic experiences in childhood and adolescence can result in adverse outcomes, including mental health concerns, school troubles, delinquency, and juvenile justice system involvement. The current study draws on a framework informed by feminist pathways and trauma theories to revisit the effect of traumatic experiences on recidivism two years following initial system contact. Data from a Midwestern juvenile court illustrated traumatic experiences are common pathways into the system but are not predictive of experiences through the system using general recidivism outcome measures. However, several other variables predicted youth receiving new petitions. The effects of race/ethnicity and age are more pronounced when the sample was disaggregated by referral unit (truancy vs. delinquency unit). We discuss different methodological and measurement factors to consider when examining the trauma-recidivism relationship.

He's to blame, she is lying: Judgments of child sex trafficking survivors

AbstractUS Federal legislation mandates the treatment of underaged youth induced to sell themselves for commercial sex as victims and not criminal offenders of prostitution laws. Nonetheless, state prosecutors often take action in juvenile court against these youth. This study explored the impact of negative moral emotions, victim blame, and victim believability on public judgments of child sex trafficking victims under varying case facts. We presented an online scenario involving a trafficking case to 682 participants and manipulated youth sex, trafficker sex, vulnerability background, and prior arrest history to determine how emotions, victim blame, and believability mediate child sex trafficking decisions. Two different paths emerged depending on the youth's sex. Participants reported greater victim responsibility and greater negative moral emotions towards a male youth trafficked by a female when he had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. With the same facts, participants reported lower believability for a female youth when she had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings for practice and theory.

Interpersonal Violence, Racial Discrimination, and Mental Health Symptoms Among Adolescents of Color in the Juvenile-Justice System.

The current study examined how interpersonal racial discrimination experiences operate together with other forms of interpersonal violence to contribute to mental health symptoms among justice-involved adolescents of color. Participants were 118 justice-involved adolescents of color aged 14 to 17 (M = 15.77, SD = 1.08; 52.5% male; 77.1% Black/African American) and their mothers. At baseline, adolescents reported on experiences of interpersonal racial discrimination, harsh parenting, teen dating violence, and exposure to interparental physical intimate partner violence. At baseline and the 3-month follow-up assessment, adolescents reported on trauma symptoms, and adolescents and their mothers reported on the adolescents' externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Multivariate multilevel modeling results indicated that interpersonal racial discrimination experiences contributed additively to adolescent mental health symptoms at both the baseline and 3-month follow-up assessments, after accounting for exposure to other forms of interpersonal violence. The current findings highlight the importance of considering adolescents' experiences of interpersonal racial discrimination, together with other forms of interpersonal violence, in work focused on understanding the mental health symptoms of justice-involved adolescents of color.

System of Restorative Justice and Juvenile Justice in India: a Brief Comparative Study with Latin American System

Justice everywhere is threatened by injustice anywhere. After the Nirbhaya case verdict in Delhi, the State was accused of being lenient with one of the juvenile offenders; this may have been the cause of the public outcry. Consequently, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, (JJ Act) was passed by India in 2015. Children who commit horrible crimes cannot be dealt with lightly. However, as has been the case in the West, placing them in adult prisons would turn them into hardened criminals and repeat offenders. “Old enough to do the crime, young enough to do the time,” says the adage. Those who commit crimes must serve their sentences. The child activists contend that the Act is founded on the concepts of retribution and vengeance and has overturned all previous good laws. Children need food, not impediments to their growth. They require our society’s compassion rather than the harshness of the law. Restorative justice is a welcome idea. What is required is a shift in perspective, a readiness to prioritize victims in criminal proceedings, and an understanding that mending relationships and undoing harm are crucial components of the criminal justice system. Therefore, rather than simply passing judgment, it is our responsibility to uplift the weak, mend the broken, and comfort the grieving. The article focuses on youth crime kinds and causes, factors that lead to crime and restorative justice. This article also focuses on comparative analysis of Indian restorative justice system with Latin American restorative justice system in juvenile cases.

School Engagement as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Temperament and Recidivism Among Adolescents in Community-Based Juvenile Justice Services

Prior research has established the relationship between temperament and recidivism, yet the mechanisms that underlie this relationship have yet to be explored. School engagement represents one possible mechanism and has been shown to be related to both recidivism and temperament. The current study expands research on DeLisi and Vaughn’s temperament theory by utilizing data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to determine if school engagement effectively mediates the relationship between temperament and continued delinquency. Results provide evidence of a significant mediation effect, controlling for a host of potential confounding variables. Findings suggest that approximately one-third of the total effect of temperament on juvenile recidivism is mediated by school engagement issues, yet a significant direct effect of temperament remains. Policy and intervention implications are briefly considered. Further research is required to determine additional mediators to better understand the processes by which temperament impacts reoffending.

Longitudinal Cohort Study: Predictive Validity of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth Individual/Clinical Risk Factor on Recidivism Among Mississippi Justice-Involved Youth

Many juvenile justice agencies have moved toward risk-need-responsivity and risk-need-assessment approaches to manage youth and reduce future risk of recidivism. The Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) instrument is a popular tool to assess risk and protective factors among justice-involved youth. The present study explored the consistency of the Individual/Clinical Risk measure, comprised of eight items (e.g., anger, negative attitudes, empathy), as a single latent factor across five years (2017–2021) of juvenile court data in Mississippi. Further, this study examined gender (male vs. female) and race (Black vs. non-Black) invariance in this risk factor and the predictive validity of the risk factor for one-year recidivism. Findings support the existence of a single factor of Individual/Clinical Risk and consistency across time. The risk factor was invariant across gender and race. Further, the risk factor significantly predicted recidivism in years 2019–2021, and near significantly predicted recidivism for 2017. These findings recommend the continued use of the SAVRY as an evidence-based measure of risk.

Similarities in Reentry Planning of Students Involved in the Juvenile Justice System and Postsecondary Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities

The field of special education has developed evidence-based practices (EBPs) to promote positive postsecondary outcomes for youth with disabilities. Postsecondary transition planning is comparable to the planning processes needed for reentry of previously incarcerated youth to educational and community settings. Common practices for transitioning students with disabilities and for those returning to the community setting include career/technical/vocational education, interagency collaboration, career assessment and exploration, student-centered planning, high expectations, real-life problem solving, and assessment-driven goals. Transition planning has the potential to reduce recidivism, the key measurement of successful programs and interventions in the carceral setting. There is little empirical evidence of best practices in correctional education; however, there are some programs and resources within special education transition literature that may be useful in the development of prerelease planning for adjudicated youth. Programs focused on improving self-determination skills such as being aware of abilities, needs and preferences, problem-solving, self-control, cognitive reasoning to address problems, self-efficacy, and self-advocacy can increase the level of preparation youth have for returning to the community. Other efforts geared at systemic change can be beneficial, as well, including improvement of interagency collaboration, enrollment/re-enrollment requirements, training for educators and administrators to prevent stigma, and hiring one person in charge of the prerelease planning and records. Resources and suggested applications are included in summary.

Interventions for Trauma-Affected Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: An Overview of Diagnostic, Ethical, and Clinical Challenges and Evidence-Based Treatments

Interventions for Trauma-Affected Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: An Overview of Diagnostic, Ethical, and Clinical Challenges and Evidence-Based Treatments

ANALISIS YURIDIS PENGATURAN SYARAT PELAKSANAAN DIVERSI PADA TINGKAT PEMERIKSAAN DI PENGADILAN DALAM SISTEM PERADILAN PIDANA INDONESIA

In juvenile criminal justice system, there is the diversion policy as the transfer of juvenile cases from judicial process to outside of judicial process. The requirement regulation for diversion implementation are regulated in SPPA Law. However, about the implementation of diversion at Court, there is PERMA Number 4 of 2014 which regulates the requirement for implementing diversion as contrary with SPPA Law. This research aims to do analysis about disharmonization of norms related to regulation of requirement for implementing diversion between SPPA Law and PERMA Number 4 of 2014, and analysis about implementation of PERMA Number 4 of 2014 against SPPA Law. This research used normative legal research methods with legislative regulations approach and conceptual approach. The legal materials used is primary, secondary and tertiary legal materials obtained through document study techniques, and analyzed using deductive methods. The results of this research show that disharmonization of norms between SPPA Law and PERMA Number 4 of 2014, is because PERMA position is below the Legislative Regulations based on hierarchy of Legislative Regulations, but in case examination process at the District Court, PERMA Number 4 of 2014 still enforced and ignoring the SPPA Law with referring to the Supreme Court Law.

An Artiture of Formerly Incarcerated Tongan Students in Community College

This article is taken from my dissertation study that explored the lived experiences of three Tongan Americans, each of whom were incarcerated in juvenile hall and are now attending college as a part of a transition program into local community colleges. The study introduced a Tongan version of the school-prison nexus by highlighting the ways in which the education and the justice systems work to ignore the dual culture realities of Tongans living in the United States. Adopting and fusing Fa‘avae’s (2016) talanoa and Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis’ (1997) portraiture methodologies, I co-created a new approach Artiture—in collaboration with Taniela Petelo, my cousin, a Tongan-based international artist—to explore the following question: What are the challenges Tongan students face when they attend college after being incarcerated in the juvenile justice system? Findings from this Artiture highlighted intersections of family, history, cultural obligations and expectations, and the impact on Tongan Americans who deal with what Vakalahi (2009) calls “dual culture” (pg. 1259).

Juvenile Delinquency and Justice

Juvenile delinquency in India is much less as compared to other developed countries, then the government has implemented necessary and appropriate acts for its prevention and has also established organized government and non-government institutions under which such law-disputed juveniles are given proper treatment. To be able to get protection and live a meaningful life in the future, the child is indeed as innocent and free from vices as he was in the beginning, if at that time he is carefully molded into a virtuous structure, and then his physical, mental, moral and spiritual attitudes will improve. There will be all-round development.

183. Advancing the Health of Juvenile Justice Involved Youth: The Efficacy of a Peer Health Education Curriculum at a Juvenile Detention Facility

183. Advancing the Health of Juvenile Justice Involved Youth: The Efficacy of a Peer Health Education Curriculum at a Juvenile Detention Facility

KETERLIBATAN ANAK DALAM TINDAK PIDANA DITINJAU DARI PERSPEKTIF HUKUM PIDANA ANAK DI INDONESIA

Children are the next generation of the nation so they need maximum coaching, guidance and protection so that the child will not commit an act that violates the law. The involvement of children, who in this case are perpetrators of a criminal Children are the next generation of the nation so they need maximum coaching, guidance and protection so that the child will not commit an act that violates the law. The involvement of children, who in this case are perpetrators of a criminal act, must be given the rights and protection of children as vulnerable legal subjects as regulated in the applicable laws and regulations. Through a normative legal approach, this research analyzes legal regulations that regulate the rights and protection of children involved in criminal contexts. The aims of this research are firstly to find out the meaning of children in Indonesian laws and regulations, secondly to find the concept of children's criminal law legislation in Indonesia which regulates children's involvement in criminal acts according to a normative approach, and thirdly to find out the procedures for handling cases of involvement. children in juvenile crimes from the perspective of juvenile criminal law in Indonesia through the principles of child human rights and the principles of the best interests of the child. The results of this research are that the handling of cases of child involvement in juvenile crimes from the perspective of juvenile criminal law in Indonesia is by placing more emphasis on the principles of children's human rights and the best principles for the interests of children because although there has been progress, challenges remain, and improvements Continuous harmonization of policies, consistent implementation, and strengthening the rehabilitation system can optimize the protection and development of children involved in the context of juvenile criminal justice.
 Keywords: Child Involvement, Child Crime, Child Criminal Law

Adaptation of a trauma-informed intervention to prevent opioid use among youth in the legal system

IntroductionYouth in the legal system are at high risk for opioid and other substance use problems and exhibit high rates of trauma exposure. Trauma-focused therapeutic approaches to prevent substance use show promise, but few evidence-based interventions are designed with justice-involved youth in mind. Consequently, implementing trauma-informed, evidence-based interventions within juvenile justice systems is challenging. The current paper describes the systematic adaptation of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) as a family-centered substance use prevention program for youth transitioning from secure residential facilities. MethodsThe study utilized the ADAPT-ITT methodological framework to adapt TBRI Caregiver Training, an evidence-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to help caregivers support children and youth with histories of trauma. Phases of adaptation included (1) Assessment, (2) Decision, (3) Prototype Development, and (4) Testing and Integration. The adaptation process explored contextual factors (e.g., systems, facilities, and staff) and the needs of the new target population (i.e., youth in the legal system and their caregivers). Adaptations were made to both content (e.g., terminology and activities) and structure (e.g., session duration and delivery setting) with input from participants from the target population, key stakeholders, and content experts. ResultsThe systematic adaptation of the intervention model resulted in a two-phase, four-component intervention package that can be implemented in juvenile justice settings as part of youth reentry services. The primary intervention, delivered while youth are in residential facilities, includes the TBRI Caregiver Curriculum, TBRI Youth & Young Adult Curriculum, and TBRI Nurture Groups. The secondary intervention, delivered after youth transition home, includes the TBRI Family Coaching Curriculum. ConclusionsUtilizing a systematic methodological framework to guide adaptation has implications for developing accessible, culturally relevant, and contextually appropriate interventions. Accounting for contextual factors and population needs can improve the fit of evidence-based interventions for youth in the legal system, facilitating uptake and ultimately improving outcomes for youth at risk for substance use problems. Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04678960.

Changing Responses to Juvenile Arrests: Analyzing 30 Years of Juvenile Court Records

This article assesses change in juvenile formal social control in the United States from 1985 to 2014. By combining national juvenile arrest and court data, I compute and analyze arrest-adjusted trends in court processing and case dispositions. Results indicate that the juvenile justice system now operates with a wider net of control through stronger connections with law enforcement and increased use of less-severe dispositions, especially those dispensed prior to adjudication. This increased exposure to formal system involvement, even if less severe, nonetheless raises concerns for youth and their social and developmental outcomes of system involvement.

EQUALITY OF LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN VIS-À-VIS THE LAW IN CASES OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE AND ABUSE IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHILD PROTECTION LAW

Child rape is a devastating form of sexual violence. This study aims to investigate and analyze the equality of legal protection for children in cases of sexual relations and abuse, focusing on the perspective of child protection law. This study uses methods that research normative juridical law. The results showed that the established legal law has partially worked for victims of child violence. The study's conclusions address whether the diversion process undertaken by law enforcement authorities in the Juvenile Justice System for adolescents facing legal problems due to allegations of sexual intercourse and/or maltreatment reflects gender non-discrimination.