Why be lenient towards children who commit crimes? Reflection on the grounds for such leniency is the entry point into the development, in this book, of a theory of the nature of criminal responsibility and desert of punishment for crime. Gideon Yaffe argues that child criminals are owed lesser punishments than adults thanks not to their psychological, behavioural, or neural immaturity but, instead, because they are denied the vote. This conclusion is reached through accounts of the nature of criminal culpability, desert for wrongdoing, strength of legal reasons, and what it is to have a say over the law. The centrepiece of this discussion is the theory of criminal culpability. To be criminally culpable is for one's criminal act to manifest a failure to grant sufficient weight to the legal reasons to refrain. The stronger the legal reasons, then, the greater the criminal culpability. Those who lack a say over the law, it is argued, have weaker legal reasons to refrain from crime than those who have a say. They are therefore reduced in criminal culpability and deserve lesser punishment for their crimes. Children are owed leniency, then, because of the political meaning of age rather than because of its psychological meaning. This position has implications for criminal justice policy, with respect to, among other things, the interrogation of children suspected of crimes and the enfranchisement of adult felons.
Why be lenient towards children who commit crimes? Reflection on the grounds for such leniency is the entry point into the development, in this book, of a theory of the nature of criminal responsibility and desert of punishment for crime. Gideon Yaffe argues that child criminals are owed lesser punishments than adults thanks not to their psychological, behavioural, or neural immaturity but, instead, because they are denied the vote. This conclusion is reached through accounts of the nature of criminal culpability, desert for wrongdoing, strength of legal reasons, and what it is to have a say over the law. The centrepiece of this discussion is the theory of criminal culpability. To be criminally culpable is for one's criminal act to manifest a failure to grant sufficient weight to the legal reasons to refrain. The stronger the legal reasons, then, the greater the criminal culpability. Those who lack a say over the law, it is argued, have weaker legal reasons to refrain from crime than those who have a say. They are therefore reduced in criminal culpability and deserve lesser punishment for their crimes. Children are owed leniency, then, because of the political meaning of age rather than because of its psychological meaning. This position has implications for criminal justice policy, with respect to, among other things, the interrogation of children suspected of crimes and the enfranchisement of adult felons.
Children of almost any age can break the law, but at what age should children first face the possibility of criminal responsibility for their alleged crimes? This work is the first global analysis of national minimum ages of criminal responsibility (MACRs), the international legal obligations that surround them, and the principal considerations for establishing and implementing respective age limits. Taking an international children's rights approach, with a rich theoretical framework and the vitality of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this work maintains a critical perspective, such as in challenging the assumptions of many children's rights scholars and advocates. Compiling the age limits and statutory sources for all countries, this book explains the broad historical origins behind most of them, identifying the recurring practical challenges that affect every country and providing the first comprehensive evidence that a general principle of international law requires all nations, regardless of their treaty ratifications, to establish respective minimum age limits.
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Responsibility—which once meant the moral duty to help and support others—has come to be equated with an obligation to be self-sufficient. This has guided recent reforms of the welfare state, making key entitlements conditional on good behavior. Drawing on political theory and moral philosophy, Yascha Mounk shows why this re-imagining of personal responsibility is pernicious—and suggests how it might be overcome. “This important book prompts us to reconsider the role of luck and choice in debates about welfare, and to rethink our mutual responsibilities as citizens.” —Michael J. Sandel, author of Justice “A smart and engaging book... Do we so value holding people accountable that we are willing to jeopardize our own welfare for a proper comeuppance?” —New York Times Book Review “An important new book... [Mounk] mounts a compelling case that political rhetoric...has shifted over the last half century toward a markedly punitive vision of social welfare.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “A terrific book. The insight at its heart—that the conception of responsibility now at work in much public rhetoric and policy is both punitive and ill-conceived—is very important and should be widely heeded.” —Jedediah Purdy, author of After Nature: A Politics for the Anthropocene
This book represents a brief treatise on the theory and research behind the concept of desistance from crime. This ever-growing field has become increasingly relevant as questions of serious issues regarding sentencing, probation and the penal system continue to go unanswered. Rocque covers the history of research on desistance from crime and provides a discussion of research and theories on the topic before looking towards the future of the application of desistance to policy. The focus of the volume is to provide an overview of the practical and theoretical developments to better understand desistance. In addition, a multidisciplinary, integrative theoretical perspective is presented, ensuring that it will be of particular interest for students and scholars of criminology and the criminal justice system.
Despite inventing the juvenile court a little more than a century ago, the United States has become an international outlier in its juvenile sentencing practices. The War on Kids explains how that happened and how policymakers can correct the course of juvenile justice today.
Of related interest . . . PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT —Theodore H. Blau This unique training guide/reference was written in response to the ever-growing demand for psychological services in law enforcement agencies. Written by one of the nation's most respected experts in forensic psychology, it offers psychologists now working in law enforcement agencies and those interested in entering the field, a detailed overview of the many functions psychologists serve within those agencies. Organized by sections corresponding to the major functions psychologists perform—assessment, intervention, consultation, and training—the book deals with all issues that psychologists working in law enforcement will encounter in their practice, including officer recruitment, fitness-for-duty evaluations, stress counseling, drug and alcohol counseling, hostage negotiations, investigative hypnosis, management consultation, and much more. 1994 (0-471-55950-4) 454 pp. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CHILD —Theodore H. Blau Over twenty-five years in the making and the result of examinations of over four thousand children, this book is a comprehensive guide to performing psychological examinations on children. Covering virtually every aspect of the examination procedure, it offers specific recommendations and step-by-step guidelines to everything from office decor, requisite equipment, test selection, rating categories, and techniques for minimizing stress to administering tests, writing reports, and making recommendations. Closely following Dr. Blau's famous Basic Psychological Examination package, the book guides readers in their assessment of environmental pressure, behavioral responses, intellectual factors, neuropsychological status, response capabilities, academic achievement, and personality. 1991 (0-471-63559-6) 279 pp. THE PSYCHOLOGIST AS EXPERT WITNESS —Theodore H. Blau This very practical guide arms mental health professionals with everything they need to serve comfortably and effectively as expert witnesses. With the help of numerous real-life examples, excerpts from transcripts, sample forms, checklists, and legal documents, it shows you how to: prepare for your day in court; avoid being manipulated by attorneys; write up depositions and psychological and technical reports; and much more. And, as the use of mental health professionals as expert witnesses continues to extend beyond traditional judicial applications, the author addresses a wide range of untraditional situations and types of cases in which readers may be called upon to serve, including cases of liability and personal injury, eyewitness identification research, trademark and patent litigation, and others. 1984 (0-471-87129-X) 424 pp. PSYCHIATRY AND CRIMINAL CULPABILITY How do we distinguish between sin and sickness? Few cases in recent memory so well typify the current confusion over this question as that of Jeffrey Dahmer. The confessed killer of fifteen young men, Dahmer had sex with and cannibalized his victims' bodies. Yet, because he was not found to be mentally ill—the threshold requirement in tests of legal insanity-—he was convicted and sentenced to 936 years imprisonment. How is it that such a severely disturbed person as Dahmer is adjudged sane and therefore culpable, while "Twinkiedefense" killer, Dan White and would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley, Jr., are deemed not guilty by reason of insanity? What are the origins of tests for criminal responsibility, and how is mental illness defined under them? Can causal links be shown to exist between specific crimes and disorders? Psychiatry and Criminal Culpability explores, in-depth, these questions and many others at the heart of one of the most controversial issues in our criminal justice system today. Throughout, Dr. Ralph Slovenko, an acknowledged expert whose professional experience straddles both the worlds of psychiatry and the law, brings a wealth of scholarship and direct experience to bear on the subject. Citing numerous landmark cases and historical formulations of criminal responsibility dating back to biblical times, he traces the evolution of current legal and psychiatric notions of culpability and the relationship between culpability and insanity. Writing for both a mental health and legal audience, Dr. Slovenko clearly and eloquently addresses a wide range of important topical issues. He explains the distinctions between the defenses of not guilty by reason of insanity, guilty but mentally ill, and diminished capacity. He identifies the types of mental illness that currently qualify under the test of criminal responsibility, including disorders that psychiatrists do not regard as psychotic, but which, nevertheless, many experts assert negate responsibility. He explores the role of the mental health professional as an expert character witness in cases where it is uncertain whether the accused committed the crime in question. And much more. Fascinating, thought-provoking, and enlightening, Psychiatry and Criminal Culpability helps guide mental health and legal professionals through the moral and technical complexities of one of the knottiest issues of our day.
Since the year 2000, some jurisdictions have revised their legislation, confirming a trend over the last 20 years to uniformity in age limits for criminal responsibility. This bulletin includes a table which sets out, for each Australian jurisdiction, the age up to which a child cannot be charged with a criminal offence; the age range within which children are considered 'doli incapax', or incapable of committing crime; and the maximum age for appearance in a children's, juvenile or youth court. In the Australian Capital Territory, the Criminal Code 2002 Div 2.3.1 now deals with the criminal responsibility of children. From 1 July 2005 in Victoria, the age jurisdiction of the criminal division of the Children's Court has increased from 17 to 18 years. In Queensland, for the purposes of the Juvenile Justice Act 1992 a child is a person who has not turned 17 years. Recent Australian reviews have discussed amending the doli incapax presumption, including reversing the onus of proof and changing its application to ages twelve and under.
Even though youth crime rates have fallen since the mid-1990s, public fear and political rhetoric over the issue have heightened. The Columbine shootings and other sensational incidents add to the furor. Often overlooked are the underlying problems of child poverty, social disadvantage, and the pitfalls inherent to adolescent decisionmaking that contribute to youth crime. From a policy standpoint, adolescent offenders are caught in the crossfire between nurturance of youth and punishment of criminals, between rehabilitation and "get tough" pronouncements. In the midst of this emotional debate, the National Research Council's Panel on Juvenile Crime steps forward with an authoritative review of the best available data and analysis. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents recommendations for addressing the many aspects of America's youth crime problem. This timely release discusses patterns and trends in crimes by children and adolescentsâ€"trends revealed by arrest data, victim reports, and other sources; youth crime within general crime; and race and sex disparities. The book explores desistanceâ€"the probability that delinquency or criminal activities decrease with ageâ€"and evaluates different approaches to predicting future crime rates. Why do young people turn to delinquency? Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents what we know and what we urgently need to find out about contributing factors, ranging from prenatal care, differences in temperament, and family influences to the role of peer relationships, the impact of the school policies toward delinquency, and the broader influences of the neighborhood and community. Equally important, this book examines a range of solutions: Prevention and intervention efforts directed to individuals, peer groups, and families, as well as day care-, school- and community-based initiatives. Intervention within the juvenile justice system. Role of the police. Processing and detention of youth offenders. Transferring youths to the adult judicial system. Residential placement of juveniles. The book includes background on the American juvenile court system, useful comparisons with the juvenile justice systems of other nations, and other important information for assessing this problem.
Adolescence is a distinct, yet transient, period of development between childhood and adulthood characterized by increased experimentation and risk-taking, a tendency to discount long-term consequences, and heightened sensitivity to peers and other social influences. A key function of adolescence is developing an integrated sense of self, including individualization, separation from parents, and personal identity. Experimentation and novelty-seeking behavior, such as alcohol and drug use, unsafe sex, and reckless driving, are thought to serve a number of adaptive functions despite their risks. Research indicates that for most youth, the period of risky experimentation does not extend beyond adolescence, ceasing as identity becomes settled with maturity. Much adolescent involvement in criminal activity is part of the normal developmental process of identity formation and most adolescents will mature out of these tendencies. Evidence of significant changes in brain structure and function during adolescence strongly suggests that these cognitive tendencies characteristic of adolescents are associated with biological immaturity of the brain and with an imbalance among developing brain systems. This imbalance model implies dual systems: one involved in cognitive and behavioral control and one involved in socio-emotional processes. Accordingly adolescents lack mature capacity for self-regulations because the brain system that influences pleasure-seeking and emotional reactivity develops more rapidly than the brain system that supports self-control. This knowledge of adolescent development has underscored important differences between adults and adolescents with direct bearing on the design and operation of the justice system, raising doubts about the core assumptions driving the criminalization of juvenile justice policy in the late decades of the 20th century. It was in this context that the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) asked the National Research Council to convene a committee to conduct a study of juvenile justice reform. The goal of Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental Approach was to review recent advances in behavioral and neuroscience research and draw out the implications of this knowledge for juvenile justice reform, to assess the new generation of reform activities occurring in the United States, and to assess the performance of OJJDP in carrying out its statutory mission as well as its potential role in supporting scientifically based reform efforts.
