ABSTRACT
Misbehavior by juveniles poses special problems for agents of social control. Foremost among the concerns is the general societal belief that we should treat juveniles differently from adults. Indeed, an entire system of social control exists for dealing with problem youths. The juvenile justice system operates under a different set of assumptions about deviant behavior than does the adult criminal justice system, and it works somewhat independently of the adult system. This does not mean that there is no overlap between the adult and juvenile systems. In actuality, there is a great deal of similarity in the operations of the two systems. Some individuals claim that the differences are little more than semantic exercises. The aim of this chapter is to give the reader a brief overview of the problem of juvenile delinquency, the operations of the juvenile justice system, and the major issues currently facing that system.
