Exploring the Impact of Juvenile Court-Imposed Monetary Penalties on Recidivism - CANCELLED

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Youth, Crime, and Justice

Abstract

Court-imposed economic sanctions have long been used in both the criminal and juvenile justice systems. However, scholarly research regarding the effect of juvenile court-imposed monetary penalties on recidivism is limited. The current study uses state level data to examine the effect of economic penalties on a two-year recidivism follow-up by evaluating Pennsylvania juvenile offenders in 2015 (n=19,946) who received economic sanctions and those who did not receive monetary sanctions that year. Notably, the multivariate results revealed that juvenile offender demographics (i.e., age, gender, and race) and case characteristics (i.e., prior referrals to juvenile court, offense classification, offense type, and county population size) were associated with recidivism, and there was a harmful effect of restitution on recidivism.

Author

• Jennifer Lee Smith, Penn State Harrisburg