Citation

Farrington DP, Loeber R, Howell JC. Criminol. Public Policy 2012; 11(4): 727-750.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Society of Criminology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1745-9133.2012.00842.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Empirical evidence shows that no sharp change in cognitive functioning or in offending careers occurs on the 18th birthday. Many aspects of higher executive functioning, including impulse control, planning ahead, reasoning, thinking before acting, emotion regulation, delay of gratification, abstract thinking, and verbal memory, as well as resistance to peer influence, continue to mature through the mid-20s. Most young offenders naturally "grow out" of offending in the early 20s, which is the peak period for desistance. Adult court processing makes offenders worse; convictions are followed by an increase in offending, juveniles who are dealt with in adult court are more likely to reoffend than other juveniles, and sending young people to adult prisons leads to an increase in recidivism. The evidence suggests that the rehabilitative approach of the juvenile court is more successful than the punitive approach of the adult criminal court. KW: Juvenile justice; Juvenile delinquency;