Juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is illegal or seriously antisocial behavior by minors. It is commonly handled through a juvenile justice system focused on youth-specific procedures and outcomes.

Juvenile justice: A legal system that handles offenses by minors through procedures distinct from adult criminal courts. It supplies the institutions and procedures that respond to delinquent conduct.
Age of criminal responsibility: The minimum age at which a person can be held criminally responsible under a jurisdiction's law. It determines which children can enter formal delinquency proceedings.
Restorative justice: An approach to justice that addresses harm through accountability, participation, and efforts to repair relationships. Restorative processes can bring youth, harmed parties, and communities into resolution.
Recidivism: Repeated involvement in criminal or prohibited behavior after a prior intervention or sanction. Recidivism is a common measure of whether juvenile interventions reduce later offending.
Adult criminal justice system: Courts, law enforcement, and corrections that process people as adults accused or convicted of crimes. Transfer and sentencing decisions turn on the boundary between youth and adult systems.
Juvenile court: A court that hears cases involving minors accused of offenses or needing legal protection. It determines how many alleged offenses are formally handled.
Status offense: An act prohibited only because the person committing it is a minor, such as truancy or running away. It distinguishes age-specific violations from conduct illegal for adults.
Juvenile rehabilitation: Interventions intended to reduce reoffending and support a young person's development and reintegration. Rehabilitation is a central stated aim of many juvenile systems.
School-to-prison pipeline: Policies and practices that increase students' exposure to exclusionary discipline and the justice system. School discipline can channel some young people toward juvenile legal involvement.
Juvenile waiver: A legal process that transfers a minor's case from juvenile court to adult criminal court. Waiver is the formal route by which some youth face adult prosecution.

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