A substantial amount of research has established that truancy is a consistent at-risk indicator of future criminality. This article studies the experiences of 178 juveniles targeted by the Truant Recovery Program, a collaborative and nonpunitive school-law enforcement effort, and considers questions regarding its impact through examination of juvenile justice and school information in the years before and after the truancy sweep. In particular, the article suggests that intensive cooperative efforts between school and police may be effective in identifying troubled youth and raises questions about appropriate school and justice system responses for children who demonstrate at-risk behavior.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Blumstein, A., D. Farrington, and S. Moitra. 1985. Delinquency careers: Innocents, desisters, and resisters. In Crime and justice, vol. 6, edited by N. Morris and M. Tonry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
2.
Brundage, J. M.1984. Predicting recidivism: One court's experience. Juvenile and Family Court Journal35 (33): 15-21.
3.
Del Simone, A. 1999. Administrator, Student Welfare and Attendance Office, West Contra Costa Unified School District. Interview.
4.
Devlin, A.1995. Criminal classes: Offenders at school. Winchester, UK: Waterside.
5.
Garry, E.1996. Truancy: A first step to a lifetime of problems. Youth out of the education mainstream. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, United States Department of Justice.
6.
Graham, J., and B. Bowling. 1996. Young people and crime, Home Office Research Study No. 145. London: Research and Statistics Department, UK Home Office.
7.
International Association of Chiefs of Police. 1995. Murder in America. Alexandria, VA: International Association of Chiefs of Police.
8.
Maguin, E., and R. Loeber. 1996. Academic performance and delinquency. In Crime and justice, vol. 20, edited by N. Morris and M. Tonry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
9.
Moore, S. D.1979. A report on the Status Offender Program (SOS). Juvenile and Family Court Journal30 (3): 69-77.
10.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 2000. Juvenile arrests 1999. In Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
11.
Richmond Police Department. 1996. Phase II implementation plan: A police community collaboration to reduce homicide and violent crime. Richmond, CA: Richmond Police Department.
12.
Sampson, R. J., and J. H. Laub. 1993. Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
13.
Sarnecki, J.1985. Predicting social maladjustment. Stockholm, Sweden: National Council for Crime Prevention.
14.
Snyder, H.1988. Court careers of juvenile offenders. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice.
15.
Stouthamer, M. L., and R. Loeber. 1988. The use of prediction data in understanding delinquency. Behavior Sciences and the Law6 (3): 333-354.
16.
Thornberry, T. P., M. Moore, and R. L. Christensen. 1985. The effect of dropping out of school on subsequent criminal behavior. Criminology26:3-18.
17.
Thornberry, T. P., M. D. Krohn, A. J. Lizotte, C. A. Smith, and P. K. Porter. 1998. Taking stock: An overview of findings from the Rochester youth development study. Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology meeting, Washington, DC.
18.
United States Department of Education. 1998. Annual report on school safety. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Department of Justice.
19.
White, J. L., T. E. Moffitt, F. Earls, L. N. Robins, and P. A. Silva. 1990. How early can we tell? Predictors of childhood conduct disorder and adolescent delinquency. Criminology28:507-533.
20.
Zingraff, M., J. Leiter, M. Johnsen, and K. Myers. 1994. The mediating effect of good school performance on the maltreatment-delinquency relationship. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency31 (1): 62-91.
