Recommendation against policies facilitating the transfer of juveniles from juvenile to adult justice systems for the purpose of reducing violence.

uvenile violence is a substantial public health problem in the United States. In a representative national survey in 2002, U.S. adults reported more than 1.87 million incidents of victimization by perpetrators estiated to be between the ages of 12 and 20 years—a rate f approximately 5.1 incidents of victimization per 100 uveniles in this age group.1,2 Based on the same survey, uvenile perpetrators commit violence at a higher rate han any other age group. Two thirds of reports by victims ere of “simple assaults” (i.e., attacks without a weapon nd not resulting in an injury requiring more than 2 days f hospitalization); the remaining victimizations were serious violent crimes” (i.e., aggravated assaults, robberes, or rapes, but because of the nature of victim surveys, xcluding murder). Over the last 25 years, juveniles aged 0–17 years, who constitute less than 12% of the populaion, have been involved as offenders in approximately 5% of serious violent victimizations. The reduction of morbidity and mortality caused by iolence is a major goal of public health. Similarly, the ssurance of public safety and the reduction of violent rime are goals of the national system of justice. This eport evaluates an approach to the prevention of iolence by means of a legal policy that has expanded in ecent decades in states across the nation in response to he perceived increase in juvenile violence and pereived challenges in the juvenile justice system in esponding to juvenile violence. The recommendation in this report represents the ork of the Task Force on Community Preventive ervices (the Task Force). An independent, nonfederal roup, the Task Force is developing the Guide to ommunity Preventive Services (the Community Guide) with he support of the U.S. Department of Health and uman Services (DHHS) in collaboration with public nd private partners. Although Centers for Disease ontrol and Prevention (CDC) provides staff support