Texas Teens Cover - Senate

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY JANUARY 2001
juveniles 10-17 years of age, property crime dropped by 27.1 percent, violent
crime dropped by 33.87 percent, and weapons crimes dropped by 28.73 percent.
Texas arrest statistics reflect a similar decline in juvenile crime. In Texas, from
1995 to 1998 the population aged 10-16 grew by 4.0 percent (U.S. Census Bureau
data), while the overall juvenile crime rate for the population aged 10-16
decreased by 8.01 percent. Among juveniles 10-16 years of age, from 1995 to
1998, property crime dropped by 32.35 percent; violent crime dropped by 23.5
percent; and weapons crimes dropped by 39.31 percent.
Policy Implication: Monitor whether Project Spotlight and other juvenile justice
legislation enacted in Texas reduce the juvenile crime rate.
Project Spotlight provides intensive supervision and surveillance by a team of
police and probation officers working to monitor and enforce the terms of a
teenager’s probation. Project Spotlight not only offers police and correction
agencies ways to hold youths accountable, but also offers opportunities for
community input and involvement. Neighborhood organizations, churches, and
businesses are encouraged to help build a continuum of intervention services for
Project Spotlight participants and other neighborhood youth at risk of juvenile
delinquency.
Over the past ten years, the juvenile justice system has moved from emphasizing
rehabilitation to punishment. For instance, in 1995 the 74th Texas Legislature
changed the heading of Title 3 of the Family Code from “Delinquent Children
and Children in Need of Supervision” to “Juvenile Justice Code.” In that same
bill, the age a youth can be tried as an adult was lowered to 14, the number of
offenses for which a youth could receive long-term sentences was increased,
information about the identities of, and offenses committed by youths was made
more public, and the progressive sanctions system to facilitate surer and swifter
youth punishment was implemented. The 75 th and 76 th Legislatures continued to
fine-tune the juvenile justice system in Texas with the numerous enactments.
Policy Implication: Research what factors contribute to males being more likely to
engage in criminality than females. Incorporate findings into existing prevention,
intervention, and treatment programs relating to juvenile delinquency. Given the
increasing female population of juvenile delinquents, explore whether prevention,
intervention, and treatment programs need to be modified to address this change.
Although males and females each represented approximately 50 percent of the
juvenile population in 1998 (U.S. Census Bureau data), females represented only
27 percent of the arrests. In 1998, males were over two and a half times more
likely to be arrested than females.
In Texas, females are increasing as a proportion of those arrested, but Texas
females represent a slightly higher percentage of the arrests than is true
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SENATE RESEARCH CENTER
Safe Passages: Texas Teens on the Road to Adulthood - xxiv