Recriminalizing Delinquency presents a case study of legislation that redefines previous acts of delinquency as crimes, and delinquents as juvenile offenders. It examines one state's response to violent juvenile crime through waiver legislation that transfers jurisdiction over juveniles from juvenile court to criminal court. It focuses on the creation, implementation, and effects of waiver legislation that lowered the eligible age of criminal responsibility to thirteen for murder and fourteen for other violent offenses. In the end, recriminalization is seen as an effort to return a part of the juvenile justice system to the conditions that existed prior to the creation of juvenile courts.

"Written as a case study in juvenile justice reform, Recriminalizing Delinquency provides a detailed and insightful account of a controversial legislative enactment, its background, content, intent, and impact....through this ambitious design, Singer has clearly set an agenda for subsequent research that should provide an opportunity for new and important insights to be obtained about the juvenile justice reform process." Troy L. Armstrong, American Journal of Sociology

"...this is a book worthy of significant attention. Its instruction in evaluation research and on the triangulation of methods elevates Singer's study, which could serve as a good instructional tool....Policymakers and analysts would be well advised to consult this book." Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Contemporary Sociology