Police and Court Dispositions

Abstract

This chapter will address the police and juvenile court dispositions applied to the offenses in the cohorts. Before discussing the disposition findings, however, it is necessary to review the procedures surrounding the police handling of juveniles in Philadelphia. When a juvenile in Philadelphia is apprehended for a delinquent act, the initial disposition of the offense is handled by the Juvenile Aid Division officer. Like most jurisdictions, Philadelphia police officers confronted with a juvenile delinquent have wide discretion in choosing a disposition. That is, the police officer can let the offender go with a warning, or the police can make an official arrest. Unlike other jurisdictions, however, the two particular choices open to the Philadelphia police officer—“remedial” (no official arrest, no further processing in the juvenile justice system) or “arrest”—allow the officer to be lenient, but still preserve a record of the case. Thus, remedial processing is a way of “letting the offender go,” but at the same time making note of the contact for future use.