Book Reviews : Intervention Strategies for Chronic Offenders. Peter W. Greenwood, editor. Greenwood Press, 1986. 290 pp. cloth
| Author | Alida V. Merlo |
| DOI | 10.1177/088740348700200212 |
| Published date | 01 June 1987 |
| Date | 01 June 1987 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
207
Intervention
Strategies
for
Chronic
Offenders.
Peter
W.
Greenwood,
editor.
Greenwood
Press,
1986.
290
pp.
cloth.
The
policies
and
goals
of
juvenile
justice
and
corrections
that
have
evolved
over
the
last
century
have
not
been
consistent
or
coherent.
Initially,
a
more
rehabilitative
model
was
envisioned;
today,
a
more
punitive
adult-like
model
predominates.
Despite
this
shift
and
the
demand
for
harder
and
stiffer
penalties
for
juveniles,
there
does
not
appear
to
be
any
significant
evidence
that
treating
juveniles
like
adults
deters
them
from
future
delinquent
or
criminal
behavior.
One
of
the
recurring
themes
in
the
book
of
readings
that
Greenwood
has
authored
and
compiled
is
the
paucity
of
research
that
has
been
done
and
the
need
for
replication
and
expansion
of
historical
and
contemporary
innovative
treatment
approaches.
Historical
developments
in
juvenile
justice
and
juvenile
corrections
are
presented
in
five
of
the
book’s
twelve
chapters.
For
example,
the
chapter
by
Schlossman
and
Pisciotta,
introduces
the
reader
to
the
policies
for
treating
delinquent
offenders
at
the
Whittier
School
in
Los
Angeles
and
the
House
of
Refuge
in
New
York
in
the
1920s.
Demographic
data
and
some
case
histories
are
included
in
the
historical
account
of
the
two
institutions.
A
significant
limitation
at
the
Whittier
School
was
the
Superintendent’s
lack
of
concern
for
aftercare.
Nelles,
the
Whittier
School
Superintendent,
was
an
advocate
of
clinical
diagnosis
and
evaluation,
individualized
educational
and
vocational
environments,
recreational
and
athletic
activities,
and
institutional
research.
Despite
the
more
prison-like
atmosphere
and
programs
at
the
House
of
Refuge,
there
was
a
clearly
identified
aftercare
policy.
Although
some
of
the
treatment
components
of
both
schools
have
been
incorporated
in
the
juvenile
institutions
of
the
1980s,
there
are
still
too
few
resources
directed
toward
institutional
research,
innovative
programming
and
meaningful
aftercare
policies
and
programs.
In
the
two
chapters
they
authored,
Hawkins
and
Zimring
trace
the
Borstal’s
evolution
and
decline
in
England,
and
the
Western
European
perspective
on
treating
youthful
offenders.
The
authors
note
the
important
influence
of
Alexander
Paterson,
a
Borstal
commissioner
in
the
1920s.
He
emphasized
that
the
staffs
commitment
and
dedication,
rather
than
programs
or
buildings,
were
the
most
important
elements.
A
number
of
authors
in
the
remaining
chapters
of the
book
reiterate
his
belief
that
a
caring,
motivated
and
energetic
staff
is
the
requisite
program
ingredient
for
success.
In
their
discussion
of
Western
European
perspectives
on
treatment
for
youthful
offenders,
Hawkins
and
Zimring
review
English-language
literature
and
Western
governmental
programs
and
conclude
that the
Western
European
countries
do
not
appear
to
have
abandoned
rehabilitative
special
juvenile
programs
with
the
same
zeal
as
Americans
have.
This
is
noteworthy
since
the
United
States,
and
California
in
particular,
was
considered
to
be
a
leader
in
the
field
of
juvenile
corrections
after
World
War
I I.
Their
analysis
of
a
British
and
an
American
journal
shows
a
marked
decline
in
recent
years
in
the
number
of
articles
addressing
juvenile
crime.
This
disinterest
may
be
a
manifestation
of
feelings
in
both
the
United
States
and
Europe
&dquo;...of
futility
To continue reading
Request your trial