Juvenile Delinquency

Edited by Paul M. Sharp and Barry W. Hancock.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 478 pp. $28.67 (paper).

This lengthy volume covers five areas of juvenile delinquency: a history of legal and social definitions, theories of delinquency, its social contexts, institutional responses, and public policy. Written as a text for college courses, it is both readable and comprehensive. Chapters focus on gender bias in the justice system; precocious sexuality in a progressive era; reform movements in response to delinquents; family structure and delinquency; the pros and cons of various theoretical frameworks; and the presentation of research results and statistics. Juvenile Delinquency is an interesting one-volume compendium on the subject, and merits the attention of anyone seriously interested in the topic.