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

By an excellent group of researchers from the field

The Anglo-Saxon Orientation.- Punishment and Control: Juvenile Justice Reform in the USA.- Canada's Juvenile Justice System: Promoting Community-Based Responses to Youth Crime.- Beyond Welfare Versus Justice: Juvenile Justice in England and Wales.- Mainstreaming Restorative Justice for Young Offenders through Youth Conferencing: The Experience of Northern Ireland.- Transition and Reform: Juvenile Justice in the Republic of Ireland.- Just Desert and Welfare: Juvenile Justice in the Netherlands.- Western Continental Europe.- The French Juvenile Justice System.- Survival of the Protection Model? Competing Goals in Belgian Juvenile Justice.- Juvenile Justice in Germany: Between Welfare and Justice.- Austria: A Protection Model.- The Swiss Federal Statute on Juvenile Criminal Law.- The Emerging Juvenile Justice System in Greece.- Continuity and Change in the Spanish Juvenile Justice System.- Eastern Europe.- Continuity in the Welfare Approach: Juvenile Justice in Poland.- Restorative Approaches and Alternative Methods: Juvenile Justice Reform in the Czech Republic.- Welfare Versus Neo-Liberalism: Juvenile Justice in Slovenia.- Legal and Actual Treatment of Juveniles Within the Criminal Justice System of Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Two Special Systems.- The End of an Era? - Youth Justice in Scotland.- Keeping the Balance Between Humanism and Penal Punitivism: Recent Trends in Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in Sweden.- Trends in International Juvenile Justice: What Conclusions Can be Drawn?.