Juvenile blended sentencing statutes enable juvenile courts to impose sanctions in the adult correctional system without the youth being processed by adult courts. The current study examines levels of public support for juvenile courts having the option to consider applying this new blended sentencing policy, and it analyzes the impact of various predictor variables, such as the perceived nature of juveniles and expected consequences of adult-level sanctions, on supportiveness. In 2009, a survey was mailed to a random sample of 1,000 Missouri residents, and through a series of follow ups, a 51% response rate was achieved. In general, respondents favored juvenile courts possessing the option to use juvenile blended sentencing. OLS regression analyses determined that the expected consequences of adult sanctions on youths were the strongest predictors of support. Attitudes about the respectfulness of youth and perceived importance of incapacitation in responding to youth crime also influenced attitudes toward the blended policy. Future directions for research along with policy and legal implications are discussed.

Few current criminal justice scholars, practitioners, and politicians expected to witness the phenomenon of decreasing correctional populations. Yet, there is evidence at local, state, and regional levels of significant declines in the growth of incarceration and even decreases in the size of prisoner populations. In this article we delineate the extent of decarceration and examine the context in which it has occurred. We then explore possible positive and negative outcomes resulting from decarceration and conclude with an agenda for advancing a decarceration movement.

Over the past several years, the teen court concept has been gaining popularity as a cost-effective alternative to traditional juvenile court proceedings for youth offenders. Relying on informal mechanisms of social control, Teen Courts are seen as a beneficial alternative to formal criminal justice intervention that have more positive consequences in terms of positively impacting the lives of juveniles. To date, the empirical data pertaining to how teen courts operate and their effect on changing the behaviors of young offenders is relatively limited in the research literature. This study provides a meta-analysis of some of the major evaluation studies of Teen Court, as well as examines data gathered on the Greene County Missouri Teen Court Model.

In recent years, correctional and community agencies have developed and promoted an array of policies and programs aimed at successfully facilitating the offender transition from prison to community. One model, the Reentry Partnership Initiative (RPI), emphasizes building collaborative partnerships in an effort to deliver a coordinated and continuous stream of supervision, services, and support during the transitional process and includes institutional, structured reentry, and community reintegration phases. The current study evaluates the outcome of an RPI-style model called the Missouri Prisoner Reentry Initiative (MPRI). The impact of MPRI participation was examined by comparing the reimprisonment of two MPRI treatment groups to the reimprisonment of a reference group having no MPRI involvement. The MPRI groups consisted of (a) offenders entering all MPRI phases and (b) offenders receiving MPRI assistance exclusively inside prison. MPRI was not successful in reducing reimprisonment for males but had benefits for females who entered all MPRI phases.

The application of criminal justice sanctions is often misguided by a failure to recognize the need for a comprehensive approach in the transformation of offenders into law-abiding citizens. Restorative justice is a growing movement within criminal justice that recognizes the disconnect between offender rehabilitative measures and the social dynamics within which offender reentry takes place. By using restorative approaches to justice, what one hopes of these alternative processes is that the offenders become reconnected to the community and its values, something rarely seen in retributive models in which punishment is imposed and offenders can often experience further alienation from society. In this study, the authors wish to examine factors that contribute to failed prisoner reentry and reintegration and explore how restorative reintegration processes can address these factors as well as the needs, attitudes, and perceptions that help construct and maintain many of the obstacles and barriers returning inmates face when attempting to reintegrate into society.