Juvenile Forensics
Juveniles break the law and find themselves punished because of it. On occasion, this
punishment includes some form of incarceration. Psychologists, however, typically
raise doubts about the efficacy of correctional punishment for adolescents and argue
thatjuveniles who act delinquently are not criminals but, rather, are troubled youths.
The field of juvenile forensics, then, examines whether criminal justice or mental
health responses are best suited to the needs and interests of juveniles who engage
in illicit conduct. In addition, the domain of juvenile forensics explores the impact
of correctional remedies for children who break the law.
This chapter investigates five controversies in the juvenile forensic arena. The
issues examined in the pages that follow represent some of the more hotly contested
matters at the crossroads of juvenile justice, psychology, and corrections. Consis-
tent with one theme organizing this textbook, while the reader is presented with
a limited selection of topics to review and digest, the variety of issues considered
demonstrates the breadth of the field and the need for experts trained in this sub-
specialty area. The five controversies explored include (1) juveniles in adult jails, (2)
juveniles on death row, (3) juveniles in boot camps, (4) suicide among incarcerated
youth, and (5) the incarceration of status offenders.
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