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No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court
In an age when violence and crime by young people is again on the rise, No Matter How Loud I Shout offers a look inside the juvenile court system that deals with these children and the impact decisions made in the courts had on the rest of their lives. Granted unprecedented access to the Los Angeles Juvenile Court, including the judges, the probation officers, and the children themselves, This book provides evidence of the system's inability to slow juvenile crime or to make even a reasonable stab at rehabilitating troubled young offenders. Humes draws a portrait of a judicial system in disarray.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
67 people are currently reading
1907 people want to read
About the author
Edward Humes
21 books276 followersEdward Humes is a Southern California author, journalist and writing teacher whose most recent nonfiction book is “The Forever Witness.” His next book, “Total Garbage: How to Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World,” will be published in time for Earth Day 2024. He shares his home office with a pair of rescued racing greyhounds, Valiant and Dottie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
March 3, 2018
This book was a standout example of how an interesting subject could be made text-book dry by repetition. If Humes has a point to make he makes it, he gives an often uninteresting example of some poor sad or joyfully psychotic kid who has turned to crime and violence either because they know no better (family make prison their second home) or because they really rather enjoy the criminal life style. He then makes the point again and again until my eyes glazed over and I didn't even know I was skimming.
The judge, Dorn, he goes on about likes to think he is the man who runs the system, he's only one judge, but the one whose courtroom Humes sat in. The cases he chooses as examples are only really interesting when they deviate from the norm. Like the high-achieving middle class school girl who can't see that drive-by shootings (which she likes) aren't murder, 'because you can't see if anyone was shot and you don't know who the victim is.' I've just watched too many documentaries about kids who turn to gangs because they are like a family to them.
They aren't though. There are so many myths about gangs. Like you can never leave them. Apparently gangs have an average turnover rate of 36% per annum and must continually recruit youngsters for entry level gang bangers in order to keep their numbers up.
Gangs
There were a couple of sad stories. Like the boy, almost 16, who got pissed off with his employers and shot them up in their car and stole their money. He told the police he loved his employers but was fed up with being told off for being late and needed the money. As was 10 days off being 16 he was a minor and would get a maximum of 8 years in some juvenile institution when he would be released to unleash a psychotic reign of crime no doubt. Sad for us.
The other really sad one was a kid who was induced (or so he said) to go along on a robbery of a convenience store. He had a gun. His friend was the one in charge and he held up the proprietor with his gun. From the back of the shop came one of the proprietor's employees/family (I forget) and shot dead the kid with the gun. The one who didn't shoot confessed everything to the police and was charged with murder because it happened in the commission of a crime of which he was guilty although he never fired a single shot. He will go to prison for life without parole. Sad for him.
What is a system that has no discretionary powers but must follow the law to the letter and help neither those that could be rehabilitated nor protect us from violence? It's broken is what.
It's broken is what, was repeated in many different ways but that is the short version. So ultimately I have to say, the book had an interesting subject and was well-written. If it had been edited to half its size it would have been more interesting and readable. 2.5 stars rounded up.
The judge, Dorn, he goes on about likes to think he is the man who runs the system, he's only one judge, but the one whose courtroom Humes sat in. The cases he chooses as examples are only really interesting when they deviate from the norm. Like the high-achieving middle class school girl who can't see that drive-by shootings (which she likes) aren't murder, 'because you can't see if anyone was shot and you don't know who the victim is.' I've just watched too many documentaries about kids who turn to gangs because they are like a family to them.
They aren't though. There are so many myths about gangs. Like you can never leave them. Apparently gangs have an average turnover rate of 36% per annum and must continually recruit youngsters for entry level gang bangers in order to keep their numbers up.
Gangs
There were a couple of sad stories. Like the boy, almost 16, who got pissed off with his employers and shot them up in their car and stole their money. He told the police he loved his employers but was fed up with being told off for being late and needed the money. As was 10 days off being 16 he was a minor and would get a maximum of 8 years in some juvenile institution when he would be released to unleash a psychotic reign of crime no doubt. Sad for us.
The other really sad one was a kid who was induced (or so he said) to go along on a robbery of a convenience store. He had a gun. His friend was the one in charge and he held up the proprietor with his gun. From the back of the shop came one of the proprietor's employees/family (I forget) and shot dead the kid with the gun. The one who didn't shoot confessed everything to the police and was charged with murder because it happened in the commission of a crime of which he was guilty although he never fired a single shot. He will go to prison for life without parole. Sad for him.
What is a system that has no discretionary powers but must follow the law to the letter and help neither those that could be rehabilitated nor protect us from violence? It's broken is what.
It's broken is what, was repeated in many different ways but that is the short version. So ultimately I have to say, the book had an interesting subject and was well-written. If it had been edited to half its size it would have been more interesting and readable. 2.5 stars rounded up.
August 19, 2012
This book broke my heart.
Over
and over
and over
and....
This is an extremely well-written book, in which Humes manages to show us the humans behind the label 'criminal'. He shows us the inside and the backdrop of their lives, how they rationalise, think, what they want and how they feel, and how they are (and have been) treated by caregivers, society and the system, and finally how the many chance factors that play into how their fate is decided in court. The books aim isnt to relieve the youngsters of the responsibility of their actions, but more to debate the whole way the system works and to pose the central question: 'okay, so we have young people committing crime... now what do we do about it ?' Do we dare take the chance on rehabilitation or do we pursue justice, a (false) sense of security and punishment for the actions comitted? What responsibility does society have for it's citizens, all of them, and the chances it provides them?
The book manages to show us all the different ways these questions can be anwsered, and all the different angles that weigh in on how they are anwsered, making it clear, that this is not an easy topic, for anybody involved. Leaving you to ponder for yourself, where you stand on the matters.
The book shows us how different people in the system, judges, probation officers, attorneys, politicians, a nun and several others think on the matter, based on their experiences. It shows us their frustrations with the system, the hopes they have and the reasons for the actions they take, that sometimes from the outside can seem incomprehensible.
this is an important book because it is a book where many voices, we usually dont get a chance to listen to, is heard.
this is a book, where you are shown how they feel, and you can't help feel with them.
This is a book that leaves you with the feeling that something is not right and that something must be done. The what is up to you to decide.
The only critique I have of this book is that it can sometimes be hard to follow all of the different people playing a part in this book, and that maybe it could have been benefitted from some overarching structure (if there was one, I didnt get it. The chapters seemed not to have any particular order, but be somewhat randomly put together), or at least an explanation of why it was put together the way it was. Also, here and there, there is a little too much 'lawtalk' and beaurocratic formality and institutional history pasages, that I dont think are entirely necessary, and could just as easily be handled (as it also is) to only the most important and central aspects and facts and making them part of the different stories/cases, and leaving out the longer 'fact monolouges'.
That would also make the book less entrenched in the american system only, making it more universal, since I think the problems and debates are important to any one society, because we all most decide how we deal with crime offenders, especially the young ones, who has so much life left in them.
The facts of the system are important, but even so it is the cases and the voices of these people that is the books strongest point and the most compelling read, and the facts would be better told if in direct relevance to the cases at hand.
A small matter (that can be handled by skimming over it, if it doesnt have your interest), that does not take away from the book being both important and so so wellcrafted .
I have much respect for what Edward Humes did here, both as a researcher and as a writer.
Over
and over
and over
and....
This is an extremely well-written book, in which Humes manages to show us the humans behind the label 'criminal'. He shows us the inside and the backdrop of their lives, how they rationalise, think, what they want and how they feel, and how they are (and have been) treated by caregivers, society and the system, and finally how the many chance factors that play into how their fate is decided in court. The books aim isnt to relieve the youngsters of the responsibility of their actions, but more to debate the whole way the system works and to pose the central question: 'okay, so we have young people committing crime... now what do we do about it ?' Do we dare take the chance on rehabilitation or do we pursue justice, a (false) sense of security and punishment for the actions comitted? What responsibility does society have for it's citizens, all of them, and the chances it provides them?
The book manages to show us all the different ways these questions can be anwsered, and all the different angles that weigh in on how they are anwsered, making it clear, that this is not an easy topic, for anybody involved. Leaving you to ponder for yourself, where you stand on the matters.
The book shows us how different people in the system, judges, probation officers, attorneys, politicians, a nun and several others think on the matter, based on their experiences. It shows us their frustrations with the system, the hopes they have and the reasons for the actions they take, that sometimes from the outside can seem incomprehensible.
this is an important book because it is a book where many voices, we usually dont get a chance to listen to, is heard.
this is a book, where you are shown how they feel, and you can't help feel with them.
This is a book that leaves you with the feeling that something is not right and that something must be done. The what is up to you to decide.
The only critique I have of this book is that it can sometimes be hard to follow all of the different people playing a part in this book, and that maybe it could have been benefitted from some overarching structure (if there was one, I didnt get it. The chapters seemed not to have any particular order, but be somewhat randomly put together), or at least an explanation of why it was put together the way it was. Also, here and there, there is a little too much 'lawtalk' and beaurocratic formality and institutional history pasages, that I dont think are entirely necessary, and could just as easily be handled (as it also is) to only the most important and central aspects and facts and making them part of the different stories/cases, and leaving out the longer 'fact monolouges'.
That would also make the book less entrenched in the american system only, making it more universal, since I think the problems and debates are important to any one society, because we all most decide how we deal with crime offenders, especially the young ones, who has so much life left in them.
The facts of the system are important, but even so it is the cases and the voices of these people that is the books strongest point and the most compelling read, and the facts would be better told if in direct relevance to the cases at hand.
A small matter (that can be handled by skimming over it, if it doesnt have your interest), that does not take away from the book being both important and so so wellcrafted .
I have much respect for what Edward Humes did here, both as a researcher and as a writer.
June 29, 2008
I work in the field and - believe me - what's described in this book is what goes down. It's amazing that some of our children are raised to be uneducated and violent and are then subjected to our overloaded, broken system. I don't have the answer to this huge problem but I think in-depth accounts, like this one, of the problem are probably the best way to start addressing the way we punish and reintegrate our culture's deviant youth.
July 24, 2015
can i get a couple more stars here, please? like maybe a galaxy full?
this book is a tad dated now, but i doubt things have vastly improved for the better. the juvenile justice system is a broken, tattered thing, doing very little to salvage juvenile offenders, gain justice for their victims, or strengthen families sideswiped by the system itself.
this book follows a tiny crop of juvenile offenders through a year in the courts and jails and camps and group homes and back on the streets. the author interviewed (and clearly spent a great deal of time with) the kids, the prosecutors, the public defenders, probation officers, volunteers, the victims, and the judges (most memorably Judge Dorn, who of all, most clearly gives a deep, personal shit about the kids). it is most emphatically not a pretty story. how can a whole system of adults who, for the most part, are really trying to do what's best for the kids and for society, fail so utterly?
what an effing mess.
but not the book. the book is beautifully written, compelling as only the best journalism can be. it doesn't aim for cheap thrills--doesn't linger with that smarmy voyeurism on ugly crimes, or sink into holier-than-thou moralizing. the author's compassion for every caring person caught up in the meat-grinder of the system is on clear display.
the ones that don't care get a print-version tongue-lashing that should shame them through the next six or seven lives.
so why should you read this? apart from the obvious--it affects us all, whether we have kids or not--i think you should know, particularly if you are a Californian, what your State is up to and how it is failing to do right by any of us. you should read it if you think that jailing kids as adults makes you any safer. you should read it if you think that juvenile offenders are probably just a waste of time and will never reform; you should read it if you care about spending tax dollars to best effect; you should read it if you care about the future of California.
read it, and then go do something about it. i'm going to.
this book is a tad dated now, but i doubt things have vastly improved for the better. the juvenile justice system is a broken, tattered thing, doing very little to salvage juvenile offenders, gain justice for their victims, or strengthen families sideswiped by the system itself.
this book follows a tiny crop of juvenile offenders through a year in the courts and jails and camps and group homes and back on the streets. the author interviewed (and clearly spent a great deal of time with) the kids, the prosecutors, the public defenders, probation officers, volunteers, the victims, and the judges (most memorably Judge Dorn, who of all, most clearly gives a deep, personal shit about the kids). it is most emphatically not a pretty story. how can a whole system of adults who, for the most part, are really trying to do what's best for the kids and for society, fail so utterly?
what an effing mess.
but not the book. the book is beautifully written, compelling as only the best journalism can be. it doesn't aim for cheap thrills--doesn't linger with that smarmy voyeurism on ugly crimes, or sink into holier-than-thou moralizing. the author's compassion for every caring person caught up in the meat-grinder of the system is on clear display.
the ones that don't care get a print-version tongue-lashing that should shame them through the next six or seven lives.
so why should you read this? apart from the obvious--it affects us all, whether we have kids or not--i think you should know, particularly if you are a Californian, what your State is up to and how it is failing to do right by any of us. you should read it if you think that jailing kids as adults makes you any safer. you should read it if you think that juvenile offenders are probably just a waste of time and will never reform; you should read it if you care about spending tax dollars to best effect; you should read it if you care about the future of California.
read it, and then go do something about it. i'm going to.
January 26, 2008
This book had me so upset. I cried, I got angry, and I cried some more. I've always said that helping juveniles to get their lives back on track was my calling, and this book showed me just how important that is.
With the caveat that this book was written about Los Angeles in the height of gang crime, it showcases just how inefficient and unyielding the laws and rules of court can be when the offender's life hangs in the balance. It's also a look at how budget cuts intended to save money with "get-tough" laws and transfers to adult court may actually end up costing MORE money because there is no longer any chance at rehabilitation for lesser offenders.
Read it and be outraged. And then help to get the court system back on track.
With the caveat that this book was written about Los Angeles in the height of gang crime, it showcases just how inefficient and unyielding the laws and rules of court can be when the offender's life hangs in the balance. It's also a look at how budget cuts intended to save money with "get-tough" laws and transfers to adult court may actually end up costing MORE money because there is no longer any chance at rehabilitation for lesser offenders.
Read it and be outraged. And then help to get the court system back on track.
October 10, 2022
Powerful and detailed book.
July 26, 2007
This is a truly amazing and powerful book. The stories of kids and adults entwined in the LA juvenile justice system are portrayed with authenticity and compassion. The author spent time in the juvenile incarceration facilities teaching writing to the inmates. Their stories are told in their own writing, as well as through his interviews with family and officials involved in their cases. It will break your heart to read some of the stories of kids abandoned by everyone in their lives, finding a place of belonging in the criminal world, then being tossed into a system that views them as irreparably damaged before they even turn 18. It is also a biting indictment of bureacracy and institutionalization and ignoring mental and emotional health of children and denying them rehabilitative services. Or that is how I remember it seeing as I read the book 6 years ago for a grad school class! It made a big impression on me though.
August 16, 2011
I knew the juvenile justice system was a mess, but now I know just how big a mess. Solidly researched and expertly written in vivid, often intensely gloomy prose, Shout presents the stories of dozens of kids who, for better or for worse, get sucked into the court system, along with the hopelessly undermanned crew of prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation officers and--saddest of all--parents all scrambling desperately to find the tipping point that will save America's youth. It's a compelling book. A sobering book. The only ray of light I find is one that never enters Humes' prognosis: the true tipping point isn't simply a better system or fairer trials or attorneys who actually care, but the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers.
Because, for the most part, the handcuffs and jumpsuits and prison halls aren't working.
Because, for the most part, the handcuffs and jumpsuits and prison halls aren't working.
April 22, 2012
This book tackles the issues of our juvenile system. Initially, the juvenile system was built as a way to rehabilitate the individual, not to punish the child. However, with the increased crime rates in the 1990s there was a huge call for our system to get tough on juveniles. This book shows how incarceration, statutory/prosecution waivers to adult court, and other get tough measures have negative impacts on these children, and more importantly - how often they commit crimes once they are no longer incarcerated. It shows how alternative methods of rehabilitation better serve our juvenile system and how to possibly even prevent crimes. It is all set up within a very compelling non-fictional story that will make you not want to put this book down.
November 18, 2013
I am not sure where to begin, this book is both fantastic and horrible. Fantastic because the sheer amount of work,research, blood sweat and I am sure, tears went in to it. Horrible, because of the subject matter.The percentages, facts and figures in this book were frightening to me, but became more frightening when I checked the publication date,1997. By all accounts things have gotten worse in the U.S.This book is a in depth look at the juvenile court system from many different perspectives including the children, who are children in age only. I cannot imagine Humes's ability to carve out a little piece of his heart while he was researching this book.
December 5, 2008
This was a good book. The author did a good job getting both sides of the debate about juvenile court, yet still expressing his beliefs. I was surprised that it wasn't faster reading though. I'm not sure what about the book that dragged me down, but it seemed a bit difficult to get through. The setup is well done, with the author going back and forth through the cases of seven teenagers. I would have liked to hear more about the author's journey though.
This book is written about the year 1994 so it is out of date and I am interested in finding out what has changed since then.
This book is written about the year 1994 so it is out of date and I am interested in finding out what has changed since then.
May 8, 2017
I fundamentally disagreed with so much of how the author perceives troubled youth. Throughout this book, Humes argues (seriously!!) that we should return to the 19th century system of prosecuting minors for offenses such as disrespect to authority and skipping school, and that the way to make our juvenile justice system more effective is to give harsher penalties for all offenses. I felt his arguments were judgmental, shortsighted, and lacking context.
Humes acknowledges that the juvenile justice system is failing miserably (and it is), but he only explores the possibility of cracking down even harder on juvenile offenders as the best way to fix the system. Justice systems in countries such as Norway show that rehabilitation is more effective than punishment. Yet, this is barely mentioned as an alternative. Longer sentences, stricter probation, and boot camp are discussed at length, but what about programs such as mental health services, early intervention, family therapy, community outreach, alternative education?
There is some talk of early intervention as a way to prevent mild offenders from escalating into more severe crimes, but I was often disgusted with how these kids were referred to. The author has no problem with putting kids into categories - those who are either good or bad, those who can be saved and those who can't. At one point the author states, "he is not at heart a criminal, although many of her other probationers are, kids with no moral compasses...". He suggests "a two-tier system, one for wayward kids, and one for the thugs and the killers where punishment, not rehabilitation is the goal." (This book is a bit dated, but we all know that "thug" is a racially charged word, right?) Certain kids are referred to as "little monsters", "unsalvageable human beings", and "hopeless" throughout the book.
Humes talks about choosing which kids to spend our precious resources on, even going so far as to suggest that since kids and teens with supportive families are more likely to be successfully rehabilitated, we should spend more of the resources on that population. Why should we spend the most on kids who are already more privileged? In fact, why are we looking at this topic as if we need to choose which kids to care about helping and which to simply lock up? The system is broken - how about looking at more radical approaches that benefit ALL juvenile offenders and strive to get all of them the help they need? This is the thought I kept returning to as he criticized how we spend the most money on repeat offenders who are most likely to never be rehabilitated. I care about those kids as well as the ones who committing more minor offenses; I want a justice system that looks out for them all.
I found this book to be lacking context in many ways. There are brief mentions of how things such as race, gender, and social class impact the type of treatment a juvenile offender receives in court. But, these aspects are so integral to our broken justice system that I felt they deserved much more attention. Instead of demanding that more kids are locked up for longer periods of time and for more trivial offenses, why are we not examining the prison industrial complex? Or the school to prison pipeline? (Both of which are built on a system of racial injustice, btw.) Or, again, on prevention programs that are proven to work?
I am probably a bit biased here, because I work with troubled youth as a special education teacher and a crisis counselor. Without some degree of idealism, I just couldn't be successful in that field. I agree with many of the author's points about how our system is failing; but I don't these returning to a 19th century justice system is the best way to fix it.
Humes acknowledges that the juvenile justice system is failing miserably (and it is), but he only explores the possibility of cracking down even harder on juvenile offenders as the best way to fix the system. Justice systems in countries such as Norway show that rehabilitation is more effective than punishment. Yet, this is barely mentioned as an alternative. Longer sentences, stricter probation, and boot camp are discussed at length, but what about programs such as mental health services, early intervention, family therapy, community outreach, alternative education?
There is some talk of early intervention as a way to prevent mild offenders from escalating into more severe crimes, but I was often disgusted with how these kids were referred to. The author has no problem with putting kids into categories - those who are either good or bad, those who can be saved and those who can't. At one point the author states, "he is not at heart a criminal, although many of her other probationers are, kids with no moral compasses...". He suggests "a two-tier system, one for wayward kids, and one for the thugs and the killers where punishment, not rehabilitation is the goal." (This book is a bit dated, but we all know that "thug" is a racially charged word, right?) Certain kids are referred to as "little monsters", "unsalvageable human beings", and "hopeless" throughout the book.
Humes talks about choosing which kids to spend our precious resources on, even going so far as to suggest that since kids and teens with supportive families are more likely to be successfully rehabilitated, we should spend more of the resources on that population. Why should we spend the most on kids who are already more privileged? In fact, why are we looking at this topic as if we need to choose which kids to care about helping and which to simply lock up? The system is broken - how about looking at more radical approaches that benefit ALL juvenile offenders and strive to get all of them the help they need? This is the thought I kept returning to as he criticized how we spend the most money on repeat offenders who are most likely to never be rehabilitated. I care about those kids as well as the ones who committing more minor offenses; I want a justice system that looks out for them all.
I found this book to be lacking context in many ways. There are brief mentions of how things such as race, gender, and social class impact the type of treatment a juvenile offender receives in court. But, these aspects are so integral to our broken justice system that I felt they deserved much more attention. Instead of demanding that more kids are locked up for longer periods of time and for more trivial offenses, why are we not examining the prison industrial complex? Or the school to prison pipeline? (Both of which are built on a system of racial injustice, btw.) Or, again, on prevention programs that are proven to work?
I am probably a bit biased here, because I work with troubled youth as a special education teacher and a crisis counselor. Without some degree of idealism, I just couldn't be successful in that field. I agree with many of the author's points about how our system is failing; but I don't these returning to a 19th century justice system is the best way to fix it.
November 20, 2025
This book was recommended to me by my niece. I wasn’t overly enthusiast about reading it because frankly I hate practicing in juvenile court. It often just seems futile to me. Bad parents and wayward kids that every judge takes a different approach with. Kids are removed from dysfunctional homes where there’s no supervision and placed in a structured environment where they do well and because they do well they are returned to the same dysfunctional environment from where they came and they fall right back into problems. When are we going to figure it out. Published in 1996, this book is a little out dated when it comes to the juvenile court system in Nebraska—but I can’t speak for California. Nothing shocked me in book whatsoever. The rate of violent juvenile offenders is out of control. In Omaha gangs are placing guns in the hands of 12 and 13 year olds to commit murders because they can’t be tried as adults. That law is expected to change as a result and it should. There is definitely no easy answer when it comes to juvenile violent offenders in the court system but one thing for certain is it all starts with parents. Not every kid that winds up in the juvenile court system has bad parents but a vast majority of them do. When you have a child your life takes a second seat to the responsibility you owe your child. Create a secure and loving home for them to grow up in. Set the example you want your child to follow. The juvenile court will never be equipped to fix or replace the importance of good parenting. The book itself wasn’t written well. It was disorganized and jumped back and forth from case to case. Not a topic I like to read about for enjoyment and a not a well written book — hence not a high rating. Sorry Jill.
August 9, 2019
I didn't know anything about the juvenile justice system going into this read, but it was still blindingly obvious that the book is very, very dated. Though the term is never used, "superpredator" is written between the lines on every page. There is essentially no discussion of how race or class plays into involvement with or outcomes of the juvenile justice system, apart from the observation that kids with parents who care and can pay for lawyers generally get more favorable sentencing. It was written in a different time with very different attitudes about policing, the justice system, and the prison industrial complex, and that shows.
There is a lot of discussion of the need to be tough on crime and fear about escalating juvenile crime rates, complete with estimates that youth crime would rise by 150% by 2010. As it turns out, by 2010 kids were barely having sex or drinking alcohol, let alone committing armed robbery and double homicide. Google turned up the below article - a much more hopeful look at what the future ultimately held for California's juvenile justice system.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...
This book has a great topic and I was excited to read it, but it wasn't what I wanted. However, American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment is fantastic - maybe read that book instead.
There is a lot of discussion of the need to be tough on crime and fear about escalating juvenile crime rates, complete with estimates that youth crime would rise by 150% by 2010. As it turns out, by 2010 kids were barely having sex or drinking alcohol, let alone committing armed robbery and double homicide. Google turned up the below article - a much more hopeful look at what the future ultimately held for California's juvenile justice system.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...
This book has a great topic and I was excited to read it, but it wasn't what I wanted. However, American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment is fantastic - maybe read that book instead.
February 5, 2019
An interesting and compelling, if overly long, examination of the justice system for children. The book is set in California in 1996 and I'm certain that some things have changed, and probably not for the better. The author immersed himself in the Juvenile courts and followed a couple of judges, a prosecuting attorney, probation officers, and defense attorneys for a year. During that year, he profiled about seven children, including one female gangbanger, a teenager in the system because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and who had been failed repeatedly by the Children's Protective Services, and a teenager who killed his employers for $300. There are of course hundreds of thousands of children who are in the system nationally everyday. The author writes about the rare successes and the all too common failures as well as a brief history of the juvenile justice system and suggestions for the future.
I have long had an interest in the criminal justice system and this book was one of many that I'd been waiting to read for some time now. Unfortunately I can only give this book three stars because of its monotony and repetition. The author could have pared down the book by one hundred pages or more and not detracted from it's message. I found myself bored with this book, which is not something good with reading. There are vivid descriptions of violence and murder, some questionable language, and liquor and substance abuse. Despite its length, I did like it.
I have long had an interest in the criminal justice system and this book was one of many that I'd been waiting to read for some time now. Unfortunately I can only give this book three stars because of its monotony and repetition. The author could have pared down the book by one hundred pages or more and not detracted from it's message. I found myself bored with this book, which is not something good with reading. There are vivid descriptions of violence and murder, some questionable language, and liquor and substance abuse. Despite its length, I did like it.
May 7, 2018
Gives a great perspective on some of the larger problems of the juvenile justice system. I can understand why the book is limited to following the lives of a few people, but at times I wish I could have gotten a larger perspective of other prosecutors, public defenders, judges, and juveniles. I know that I cannot take each of the perspectives illustrated to be representative of everyone working in that field or in a certain institution, but it was still a very detailed at times dense book that taught me a lot about the complexities of the juvenile justice system in California in the early 1990s and 2000s. Definitely a great read to get better perspectives of the system.
June 5, 2025
Though it has been almost 30 years since Mr. Humes immersed himself in the world needed to write this classic, it might be more relevant today (as many cities see a surge in juvenile crime) than when it was published.
The book is compelling, beautifully written, and -- most important of all -- clear-eyed. Many of the books on juvenile crime and justice written in recent years have been written by axe-grinders: academics or activists with an agenda. Mr. Humes is a true reporter, tirelessly gathering up the facts readers will need to understand the nature of one of contemporary society's most compelling and vexing problems.
The book is compelling, beautifully written, and -- most important of all -- clear-eyed. Many of the books on juvenile crime and justice written in recent years have been written by axe-grinders: academics or activists with an agenda. Mr. Humes is a true reporter, tirelessly gathering up the facts readers will need to understand the nature of one of contemporary society's most compelling and vexing problems.
March 20, 2017
The book is filled with anecdotal stories from the Juvenile Justice System. The author largely focuses on children who have committed violent crimes. The intent is to show that the juvenile courts had been aware of children much earlier on, but had taken ineffective steps to change their behavior. The result is time and money spent on seemingly few benefits. The book ends with an argument for a rehabilitative system rather than a punishment system.
Research and experience strongly suggests that early outreach/treatment/rehabilitation are more effective than later incarceration. While the author displays a narrative in support of treatment, the book does not attempt to create a black and white picture. The imperfect experience of offenders, victims, prosecutors, and defenders are all presented. This portrayal helps humanize a bureaucratic system that has been underfunded, understaffed, and unheard.
Research and experience strongly suggests that early outreach/treatment/rehabilitation are more effective than later incarceration. While the author displays a narrative in support of treatment, the book does not attempt to create a black and white picture. The imperfect experience of offenders, victims, prosecutors, and defenders are all presented. This portrayal helps humanize a bureaucratic system that has been underfunded, understaffed, and unheard.
August 14, 2018
Very well done. Heartbreaking, but a worthy read. I work in the juvenile justice field and while it has changed tremendously in the last 20 years, it surprisingly has stayed the same . I've seen kids released who should have been detained based on the Judge's dislike of their probation officer. Likewise kids detained on a minor first offense that posed no danger to anyone based on an unjustified recommendation from their probation officer. Until petty politics and departmental games stop determining a child's future, the system won't ever truly "change".
August 25, 2018
So glad I read this while practicing Juvenile law. Nearly 25 years later, both the ways that things have changed - and how they haven't - were striking. It's eerie how I go to court about once a month in the very court room at the center of this book.
June 5, 2022
I gave this book 3 stars mainly because of it’s age.
It’s well written and the information is presented in an entertaining as well as informative way. However, it was written over 25 years ago. It’s history now, not current events.
It’s well written and the information is presented in an entertaining as well as informative way. However, it was written over 25 years ago. It’s history now, not current events.
June 30, 2022
This book was incredibly insightful about the American Juvenile System and its shortcomings. This book was also very personal as it gave real-life accounts of those who have served time in the Juvenile system, while also giving a brief history of how the system has changed over time.
December 31, 2024
This hurt to read. I had to give myself time to read it, a luxury I recognize I'm fortunate to have; and one that folks whose stories this book tells have likely never had. There is no time to spare in making what is certainly a series of necessary interventions in this broken system.
April 17, 2021
One of the best books I've ever read.
May 2, 2022
A person-in-environment angle. This book made me angry because if it’s accuracy. Life can determined by a judge’s mood that day.
January 21, 2023
Equal parts infuriating and heartbreaking.
March 8, 2024
3.6 stars. So incredibly heartbreaking and infuriating. Writing was dense and a little repetitive of information at times but still a good read.
July 24, 2024
Fav book of all time
September 25, 2024
Informative
December 17, 2024
Powerful
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