Evaluating the effects of minimum ages for juvenile court jurisdiction- An interrupted time series approach

• In Event: Causal methods in Developmental and Life-Course Criminology: Strategies to improve causal inference

Abstract

Across the country, states have begun implementing minimum ages for juvenile court jurisdiction, establishing lower age boundaries under which youth cannot be adjudicated delinquent. California is the largest state to make such a change, recently increasing their minimum age for juvenile court jurisdiction to 12. Despite policy momentum suggesting states are open to establishing or raising minimum ages for juvenile court jurisdiction, quantitative evaluations of the impacts of raising these policies on later arrest rates for juveniles are limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of California’s minimum age for juvenile court jurisdiction on juvenile arrest rates in the state. To do this, this study employs monthly juvenile arrest rate data from UCR from the years 2010 – 2020 (pre-COVID). This study also uses an interrupted time series approach to examine the impact of California’s minimum age policy on juvenile arrest rates, using comparative trend data from Florida (a similarly large, diverse state). Findings have important implications for policy makers and advocates concerned with addressing juvenile arrest across the country.

Author

• Abigail Novak, University of Mississippi