Schur, Edwin M.: Radical Non-Intervention and Delinquency

The Delinquency Label

Adverse consequences result from being processed through the court system. Specifically, court processing labels the juvenile as a delinquent. Once that occurs, juveniles adopt that identity and often perform in accordance with the label and associate with similar youths. For example, in school, teachers may treat delinquent children differently than “regular” children. The “bad” youths then associate themselves with other “delinquents,” increasing their proclivity toward delinquency. Some courts [Page 819]attempt to identify “at-risk” youth and place them in programs aimed at correcting pre-delinquent behaviors, effectively labeling the youths as “pre-delinquent.” Radical non-intervention theory suggests that children placed in treatment programs for “pre-delinquency” may feel like they are being punished for a behavior that is not illegal. This sense of injustice by the court system may cause youths to distrust the system and lead them to rebel against it, thus increasing the probability of further, more serious delinquency.

The Juvenile Court System

Radical non-intervention theory holds that courts intervene too often into the lives of juveniles. The theory argues that although the court claims to know what is best for children, in fact, children are the only ones who know what is best for their unique situations. As a result, the theory proposes that voluntary treatment programs (as opposed to compulsory programs) should be included in juvenile justice policies. Additionally, the theory proposes removing all status offenses from the juvenile court's jurisdiction. Minor violations should be handled outside of the juvenile court to avoid negative labels caused by system interaction.

Priorities for a Better Juvenile Justice System

Radical non-intervention theory suggested that the policies of the juvenile justice system should be modified to better suit the needs of youths who enter it. Five key priorities are proposed to accomplish this.

• First, reassess the ways of thinking about juvenile problems. Juvenile misconduct is inevitable; therefore, society must abandon the idea that juvenile delinquency is limited to certain individuals. Children act the way they do, whether it be “delinquent” or not, because of social norms and customs. To change the

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