In 2000 several European academics decided it was time to launch a European Society of Criminology. From the start the new Society encouraged the creation of working groups on specialized topics. One of the first such working groups was focused on "juvenile justice," launched by the first author of this book. The idea for this book emerged from concerns about recent developments in juvenile justice in our own countries, developments that were leading toward an evermore punitive, but not necessarily more effective, system in juvenile justice. To our surprise numerous Society members specializing in the field of Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Justice shared these sentiments and joined the working group. In addition, some American and Canadian experts became ESC members and were interested in joining the working group, adding an international dim- sion to our undertaking. The working group was guided by several key qu- tions. How have different states developed their juvenile justice system in the last 25 years, and if one compares countries, to what extent are these developments similar or different? To be more precise: to what degree has the Welfare system that had existed for most of the 20th century changed into a Just Desert and more punitive system in these countries? The present book tries to answer these questions for a great number of European and two North American countries in a comparative perspective, including 19 national reports on juvenile justice and
About the Author:

ABOUT THE EDITORS:

Josine Junger-Tas studied Sociology at the Free University of Brussels (Belgium) and obtained her PhD degree in the Netherlands at the University of Groningen. She was employed by the Dutch Ministry of Justice in its Research Institute and was appointed as Director of the Institute in 1989. She was active in the Council of Europe chairing an Expert Committee on Juvenile Delinquency in 1989. In 1992 she was appointed member of its Scientific Council. She was also active in the United Nations, where she also did preparatory work for the UN Criminology congresses. In 1989 she received the Sellin-Glueck Award from the American Society of Criminology for her 'Contributions to Criminology'. In 1994 she was appointed professor of Youth Criminology at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. She taught Self-report methodology at the University of Cambridge for three years and since 2002 she is visiting professor at the University of Utrecht. In 2000 the University of Lausanne awarded her an Honorary doctorate. In the same year -with several colleagues- she launched the European Society of Criminology. At the first ESC conference in Lausanne she was elected the first ESC President. In November 2007 she received the Distinguished International Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology.

Dr. Scott H. Decker is Professor and Director in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. He received the BA in Social Justice from DePauw University, and the MA and PhD in Criminology from Florida State University. His main research interests are in the areas of gangs, criminal justice policy, and the offender's perspective. His most recent books include European Street Gangs and Troublesome Youth Groups (Winner of the American Society of Criminology, Division of International Criminology Outstanding Distinguished book award, 2006) and Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling: Lessons from the Inside (Temple University Press, 2008). His forthcoming book (with Hugh Barlow) Criminology and Public Policy: Putting Theory to Work will be published in 2009 by Temple University Press.