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Today, most states refer to status offenders as "children or juveniles in need of supervision, services,

or care." A few states designate some status offenders as "dependent" or "neglected children," and
give responsibility for these young people over to state child welfare programs.
States approach status offenses in a number of different ways. In some states, a child who commits a
status offense may end up in juvenile court. In other jurisdictions, the state's child welfare agency is
the first to deal with the problem. Some states have increased the use of residential placement for
offenders, and others emphasize community-based programs. But, in all states, if informal efforts and
programs fail to remedy the problem, the young person will end up in juvenile court.
Penalties for Status Offenses For juveniles who do end up in juvenile court over a status
offense, the kinds of penalties the court may impose vary from state to state. Common penalties for
status offense violations include:
suspending the juvenile's driver's license
requiring the juvenile to pay a fine or restitution
placing the juvenile with someone other than a parent or guardian (such as a relative, foster home,
or group home), or
ordering the juvenile to attend a counseling or education program.
If a juvenile violates a court order, most courts have the authority to order the juvenile's detention
at a secure, locked facility. And, in some states, courts can require that the juvenile's parents attend
counseling sessions or parenting classes.
Police officers generally bring in or summon young offenders to the police department's juvenile
division and question, fingerprint, book and, if necessary, detain them. At the time of an arrest,
officers decide whether to refer young offenders to juvenile court or to route these cases out of the
justice system. Police account for most referrals to juvenile court. According to the U.S. Justice
Department, 83 percent of court referrals came from law enforcement agents in 2009. Parents,
schools, crime victims and probation officers made the remaining referrals. In the same year, police
departments handled and released 22 percent of all juveniles arrested. By contrast, the police referred
70 percent of all young offenders to juvenile court. Under federal law, officers who detain young
offenders must keep them secure while in custody and for a period of no more than six hours.
Juvenile arrest procedures differ across police departments. .
Status Offenses
Police officers handle noncriminal behavior -- known as status offenses -- involving juveniles.
Skipping school, running away from home and violating curfews are status offenses. Police also
intervene in non-delinquent cases in which youngsters are reported missing or believed to have been
abused or neglected. Officers investigate these situations by interviewing the alleged victims, their
parents or guardians, school officials and others associated with the victims. Police departments often
have crime units dedicated to juvenile matters.
Protective Service
Police are charged with protecting the public from crime and general mayhem. For juveniles, police
protection might call for removing children from an abusive home or transporting them to a shelter or
hospital if they've been abandoned. Officers are usually the first on the scene when a child is left
home alone, locked inside a car during extreme hot or cold weather conditions or not strapped into a
car seat as required for infants or toddlers. In some districts, Advancing Criminology Notes For
CSS Exam 2018
Mohsin Raza. Adv. Rana Uzair & Aamir Mahar
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100
police patrol the halls of public schools, especially in high-crime areas, to deter disturbances that put
youngsters at risk of becoming either victims or violators.
Education
Police officers sometimes partner with education officials and teachers to deter criminal behavior
among youngsters. Officers visit classrooms as invited guests to warn students about the
consequences of taking and selling drugs, as well as talking to or walking away with strangers who
might want to harm them.
Arrest Alternatives
Arrest and detention aren't the only choices police offer juvenile offenders. Sometimes police bring
young offenders in for questioning, give them a warning and release them to a parent or guardian. In
other cases, police place a juvenile under police supervision for a period of time. Officers
occasionally refer juveniles to a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, a youth services bureau, a mental
health facility or a social service agency for runaways. When officers refer young offenders to
juvenile court, probation officers take over these cases.
Training
Community leaders in some states recognize that police officers need training to work with a
growing population of juvenile offenders. The International Association of Chiefs of Police survey,
―2011 Juvenile Justice Training Needs Assessment,‖ shows that police chiefs generally want
officers to learn the skills needed to work more effectively with young offenders, but often lack the
funds and resources for training. The survey cites the top five areas in which police need training as
substance abuse; bullying, including cyber-bullying; gang activity; sexual, physical and emotional
abuse; and chronic criminal behavior. The survey also cited training in school safety, Internet
offenses and handling runaways as a need for police officers.
POLICE ROLE IN JUVINILE DELINQUENCY
Australian Criminology
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Criminal Justice System In Pakistan
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Reforming Pakistan‘s Criminal Justice System
Read: file:///C:/Users/USER/Downloads/4d00dee42.pdf Advancing Criminology Notes For CSS
Exam 2018

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