Description

This is the definitive examination of adolescent violence in the United States as both a social phenomenon and a policy problem. Franklin Zimring, one of America's most esteemed scholars of law and crime, scrutinizes criminal statistics and demographic trends in order to authoritatively address public worries. The result is a thorough debunking of Congressional predictions of "a coming storm of juvenile violence" and the half-baked policy proposals that accompany such warnings. The book sets forth comprehensive and dispassionate analyses of three key areas of youth violence policy: adolescent firearms possession and use, standards for transfer from juvenile to criminal court jurisdiction, and legal sanctions for adolescents who kill. Throughout American Youth Violence , the core issues of youth violence in the 1990s are examined with an unprecedented degree of analytic rigor. Zimring also offers an appropriate set of responses to youth violence that are consistent with a positive future for the juvenile court and for American youth.

Reviews

"Zimring is as eloquent and cogent a legal scholar as he is a skilled empiricist."--The Law and Politics Book Review

"A balanced, empirical analysis of youth violence which shows that it is a complex issue deserving complex thought."--Jodi Lane, University of Florida

"This thorough, well-documented analysis is important reading for policymakers and the public, and an excellent selection for all academic and public libraries."--Library Journal

Product Details

224 pages; 8 halftones, 14 linecuts; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4; ISBN13: 978-0-19-512145-2ISBN10: 0-19-512145-7

About the Author(s)