The Routledge International Handbook of Juvenile Homicide is the definitive work on juvenile homicide. This volume provides an up-to-date, comprehensive, and in-depth exploration of what is known about juveniles involved in murder. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to juvenile homicide, this handbook brings together the leading experts in social sciences, mental health, and law from many countries. The volume covers the phenomenon of juvenile homicide from beginning to end, by addressing the questions “why do kids kill?” all the way to “how does society stop them from killing?”.
The tough issues involved in sentencing youths who take the lives of others, often deliberately and in horrific ways, are confronted through chapters addressing the legal issues, child development factors, risk assessment, public attitudes, and ethical concerns. The volume brings together research specifically conducted for this volume, in addition to summaries and discussions of clinical and empirical findings. Each chapter ends with key takeaway points. Contributors include psychologists, psychiatrists, criminologists, sociologists, lawyers, economists, biologists, epidemiologists, and public health and public policy experts. Uniquely, they examine murder by juveniles across the globe. The volume includes research pertaining to the causes, correlates, and theoretical explanations of juvenile homicide offending. Moving beyond discussions of juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs) as a homogenous group, the volume includes research on specific types of JHOs and research investigating age and gender differences among JHOs. In addition, it draws attention to the empirical factors associated with juvenile homicide offending, effective treatment of JHOs, recidivism, and prevention of violent behavior. The volume also makes recommendations for policy and practice, including how to shift government policy from punishing lawbreakers to saving lives.
This volume is essential reading for scholars and students researching youth violence/juvenile homicide across a variety of disciplines including criminology, criminal justice, law, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, social work, public health, and education. It is also an invaluable reference for mental health professionals, practitioners in the juvenile and criminal justice systems, policymakers, and government leaders.
Author Biography:
Kathleen M. Heide is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of South Florida (USF). Professor Heide was elected as a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science in recognition of her contributions in Criminology, particularly in the areas of juvenile homicide and parricide. Dr. Heide is also a licensed mental health professional actively involved in evaluating adolescent homicide offenders and treating survivors of trauma, including police officers. She has served as a court-appointed expert in matters relating to homicide, violence, and family and children. Dr. Heide also has been retained by the state and the defense to evaluate defendants charged with murder in 17 states and Canada.
Professor Heide has authored or co-authored approximately 150 professional publications, including four monographs. Her book, Why Kids Kill Parents: Child Abuse and Adolescent Homicide, was the first scholarly book on the subject and is considered a seminal publication. Dr. Heide is also the author of two other books on homicide: Young Killers: The Challenge of Juvenile Homicide and Understanding Parricide: When Sons and Daughters Kill Parents. She is the co-author (with Linda Merz-Perez) of Animal Cruelty: Pathway to Violence Against People. Her research has also been featured by major news outlets around the world, and she has served as a consultant to the National Institute of Justice, National Institute of Health, many state agencies, and several law firms.
Dr. Heide has served on 20 community boards or councils and has held two gubernatorial appointments to the Florida Sentencing Commission. She has received many awards from USF for teaching and research excellence and has been recognized for her accomplishments by many community and professional organizations. Dr. Heide was elected to full membership in the American Psychological Association in recognition of her contributions to the field of psychology. Dr. Heide has been invited to lecture on her research findings in several countries. For example, she was invited by Queen Sofia of Spain to present her research on juvenile homicide at the International Meeting on the Biology and Sociology of Violence: Youth Violence (2004). Professor Heide gave the opening plenary address on parricide at a homicide conference sponsored by the Australian government and Griffith university (2014). Dr. Heide recently delivered the opening plenary on juvenile homicide for a psychology and law conference in Taiwan and will be speaking there on juvenile parricide at another conference in Fall 2023.
Kathleen holds a B.A. from Vassar College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University at Albany, State University of New York, School of Criminal Justice, where she received a Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award at commencement and was recognized as a distinguished alumna in 2007.
