The Pros And Cons Of Rehabilitation Over Punishment

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Some gang leaders will use their younger members to do the more criminal acts because their punishment when caught isn’t as severe as theirs may be when caught. Not only do gangs member think this way, but some juvenile believe they can do a tremendous amount of crimes because they will not go to jail or prison either. This is not always the case, although many juvenile courts do aim for rehabilitation over punishment, in some cases rehabilitation is not what is in the best interest of the child. A juvenile can be transferred from juvenile court to criminal court depending upon the severity of the crime. Juvenile court judges make the decision of whether a juvenile is transferred to criminal court. (Champion, 1992) There are different factors that play a part in the decision making of a transfer like prior criminal history, age, gender, ethnicity, and race. This paper will discuss what a transfer is and the reasons for transferring juveniles from juvenile court to criminal court. Then, the process and procedures of transferring a juvenile over to criminal court and the effects of being transferred will be expressed. Lastly, …show more content…

(Champion, 1992) The main reason for transferring a juvenile to criminal court is for harsher punishment to be obtainable. Another main reason for transfer to criminal court is because juvenile courts do not have the authority to impose punishment that continues into adulthood. There are many other reasons than the one listed above for a juvenile to be transferred such as; to produce fairness in punishment of certain types of crimes, holding offenders more accountable for their actions, to portray harsh punishment will be except for offenses, and decrease repeat juvenile offenders. (Champion,

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