It's F**ing Chaos: COVID-19's Impact on Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice

Abstract

An early examination of the impact of COVID-19 on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice in America, this review provides initial scholarship to rapidly evolving areas of research. Our appraisals of these topics are made after nearly 2 months of national COVID-19 mitigation measures, like social distancing and limited "non-essential" movement outside the home but also as states are gradually lifting stricter directives and reopening economic sectors. We consider the impact of these pandemic-related changes on twenty-first century youths, their behaviors, and their separate justice system. To forecast the immediate future, we draw from decades of research on juvenile delinquency and the justice system, as well as from reported patterns of reactions and responses to an unprecedented and ongoing situation. As post-pandemic studies on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice proliferate, we urge careful consideration as to how they might influence societal and the system responses to youths' delinquency. Additional practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Delinquency; Juvenile justice; Juvenile justice reform.

Fig. 1

FDJJ reported cases of eligible youth for civil citation 2016–2020; all months, community-based cases only

Fig. 2

FDJJ reported cases of eligible youth for civil citation 2016–2020; January–April only, community-based cases only

Fig. 3

FDJJ reported cases of eligible youth for civil citation 2016–2020; all months, all cases

Fig. 4

FDJJ reported cases of eligible youth for civil citation 2016–2020; January–April only, all cases