Overview, conclusions, and key recommendations

Section I of this chapter summarizes the most important points of Chapters 2 to 5 and relevant portions of Chapter 10 (which concerns European issues) by addressing key findings that are relevant for juveniles’ transition of offending from adolescence (up to age 18) into adulthood. Section I focuses on: (1) criminal careers, including criminal careers of special categories of offenders (e.g., drug dealers, homicide offenders); (2) explanations of persistence and desistance across adolescence and early adulthood; (3) vulnerable populations. Section II deals with practical issues and covers Chapters 6 to 9 and relevant portions of Chapter 10. The section focuses on six topics: (1) prediction and risk assessments to ascertain the risk of recidivism during the transition period between adolescence and adulthood; (2) legal boundaries between adolescence and adulthood and whether they need to be changed; (3) responses of the justice systems for juveniles and young adults; (4) preventive and remedial interventions outside of the justice system; (5) gender issues; and (6) ethnicity issues. Finally, Section III of this chapter contains the headline conclusions and recommendations for ways to move forward. Special sentencing and treatment provisions for young adult offenders and immaturity as mitigating factors are discussed.