Juveniles Transferred from Detention Centers Likely to Repeat Crimes, Study Says

A press release from the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services details the effects of transfer policies on juveniles in detention centers.

The report, from the report Effects on Violence of Laws and Policies Facilitating the Transfer of Youth from the Juvenile to the Adult Justice System, is published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report was done by an independent group of health experts called the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. This task force is non-federal and according to a disclaimer in the introduction to the report, the conclusions of the task force do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services. The report also makes the observation that both juvenile and criminal law are primarily matters that are determined by states. The report is part of a Guide to Community Preventive Services that the Department of Health and Human Services develops (in co-operation with public and private partners) and makes available to the states. A recommendation is included in the report for the state public health department "decision makers".

As apparent in the title of the report, the study was done to evaluate whether the practice of transferring juveniles out of the juvenile court jurisdiction and into the adult criminal justice system actually deters violence. The task force used standard methods for evaluating evidence that had been previously published. The scope of the evaluation covered both the effect transfers have on the youth who are transferred and the effect of the transfers on juveniles in general.

For the purpose of the study, "deterrence" was spoken of as either "specific deterrence" or "general deterrence". "Specific" deterrence referred to the juveniles who had been transferred to the adult criminal system and "general" deterrence referred to all juveniles. The effect of deterrence would be because of a perceived difference between the adult criminal system that is mostly about punishment and the juvenile system that is based primarily on rehabilitation.

The task force used previously published records from New York, New Jersey, Florida, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Washington, Idaho, Philadelphia, Wyoming and Montana. They followed juveniles in those states for periods of time ranging from 18 months to 6 years. The study focused on repeat offenders and whether those individuals had stayed in the juvenile court system or been transferred to the adult criminal system.

The report states that transfer policies resulted in individuals being arrested for subsequent crimes more frequently than individuals who were retained in the juvenile justice system. The task force stated that if the reason for transferring juveniles to the adult criminal system is for "specific" deterrence, the evidence shows that transferring does not accomplish that goal. In fact, according to the report, the effects of transfer laws on subsequent violence indicate that "the experience of transfer to the adult criminal justice system is associated with subsequent violence".

The report included two statements about "general" deterrence. I found them to be conflicting. The first one is, "Available evidence was insufficient to determine the effect of transfer laws and policies on levels of violent crime in the overall juvenile population." The second statement made about "general" deterrence, however, did state their conclusion: "In addition, little evidence supports the idea that transfer laws deter juveniles in the general population from violent crime."

The final paragraphs of the report are titled "Use of the Recommendations". In this section, the task force states that the transfer policies might be ones that state lawmakers choose to incorporate for reasons other than deterrence. One of the reasons mentioned is the severity of the crime. If the crime is serious enough, lawmakers may want the juvenile to be punished as opposed to rehabilitated. Another possible reason for transferring the juvenile to the adult justice system is for incapacitation. While juveniles who remain in the juvenile court system are less likely to be incarcerated and therefore able to continue to commit crimes, transferring them to the adult criminal system may mean that they are "incapacitated" for a longer length of time.

The report ends with the statement that transfer laws are... "counterproductive to reducing juvenile violence and enhancing public safety".

Sources Used:
Centers for Disease Control
Department of Health and Human Services
Independent Panel Issues Report on Transfer of Youth from Juvenile to Adult Justice System
www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2007/a071129.htm
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5609a1.htm