« CCA Sued in Death of Prisoner FL | Main | CA: Court asked to order state to pay $8 billion for inmate health care »
August 14, 2008
U.S. Department of Justice Report Concludes that Transfer Laws Substantially Increase Recidivism
U.S. Department of Justice Report Concludes that Transfer Laws
Substantially Increase Recidivism
August 13, 2008
Today, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), at the U.S. Department of Justice, released a bulletin on transfer laws and concluded that they have little or no deterrent effect on juvenile crime. The report, Juvenile Transfer Laws: An Effective Deterrent to Delinquency?", also mentions that recidivism rates have increased, because of the transfer laws.
"Too many youth are being prosecuted as adults, with harmful results," said Liz Ryan, President and CEO of the Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ). "We are calling on federal and state policy makers to reverse these punitive laws in light of this new research."
Key findings from OJJDP report:
Laws to make it easier to transfer youth to the adult criminal court system have little or no general deterrent effect, meaning they do not prevent youth from engaging in criminal behavior;
Youth transferred to the adult system are more likely to be rearrested and to reoffend than youth who committed similar crimes, but were retained in the juvenile justice system;
Higher recidivism rates are due to a number of factors including the youth's:
-- Stigmatization/negative labeling effects of being labeled as a convicted felon;
-- Sense of resentment and injustice about being tried as an adult;
-- Learning of criminal mores and behavior while incarcerated with adults;
-- Decreased access to rehabilitation and family support in the adult system;
-- Decreased employment and community integration opportunities due to a felony conviction.
The full report can be accessed at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/220595.pdf
Posted by lois at August 14, 2008 05:06 PM