Police Responses to Delinquency

Juveniles represent a unique population that poses many problems for the police. This population is unique for several reasons. First, juveniles are processed through a juvenile justice system that has a number of similarities with the adult justice system but, in many instances, is quite different. Second, our society gives more deference to juveniles as opposed to adult criminals. Society has a greater expectation that we should attempt to rehabilitate juveniles or guide them away from a life of delinquency and criminality. The police are seen as the frontline defense for this purpose. Third, the police are called on to intervene in juvenile offenses such as truancy, curfew violations, and teen drinking—offenses that are not applicable to the adult population. Enforcement of these offenses is seen as a way of preventing future criminality. This uniqueness results in the police having to pay special attention when dealing with juvenile offenders or victims.

Today juvenile involvement in violent crime is of particular interest to society. This interest has been spawned by the rash of mass murders committed by juveniles that have occurred in schools across the country. The frequency of these killings over the last decade has heightened public fear and the expectation that the police do something about juvenile violence. However, it should be noted that contrary to media and political forecasts, juvenile violent crime has not surged to unprecedented levels and has remained fairly stable. Although juvenile violent crime has increased somewhat over the past decade, it has not grown to epidemic proportions as some experts predicted. Indeed, juveniles continue to account for only a small fraction of the total violent crime in the United States.

Most medium and large police departments have specialized juvenile units to deal with juveniles and delinquency. Although most of a department's contact with juveniles is by patrol officers, juvenile officers generally process youths who are placed in custody and coordinate programs designed to reduce juvenile delinquency. Departments developed juvenile units because often juvenile cases are complex and many patrol officers do not remain familiar with how juvenile cases are processed. Juvenile courts have implemented specific rules to protect the juvenile, and these rules are quite different from criminal procedures. The juvenile [Page 287]unit maintains all files relating to juvenile cases and works with other officers in presenting their cases in juvenile court. This unit is generally housed in the criminal investigation or detective division within the department.