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Describe the history and evolution of the juvenile justice system in the Western world
Evolution of the juvenile justice system essay
History and development of juvenile justice
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Jenniffer Rodriguez Kaplan University 08/03/2015 Complete the Unit 8 Assignment: The Evolution of the Juvenile Justice System Milestones of the Evolution of the Juvenile Justice System In the US, the history of the Juvenile justice system has taken many years to reach where it is now. There are three main milestones in this history which include In re Gault, house of refugee and early facilities. The In re Gault was the time that the Supreme Court made a decision 1967 to legalize the constitutional rights of the juvenile justice system. The second milestone includes the house of refugees which was very first establishment of a juvenile justice system back in 1850. It became operational in the year 1855. The third milestone was the official
Juvenile Justice Reforms in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2011, from Juvenile Transfer to Criminal Courts: http://www.ojjdp.gov
Vito, Gennaro F., and Clifford E. Simonsen. Juvenile justice today. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. Print.
Using pertinent theories of juvenile delinquency, this policy proposal will first highlight areas in the Illinois Juvenile Justice system that are in need of updates and modifications and secondly identify specific changes to be made in the current system. Through the application of rational choice, social control and strain theories along with an analysis of current research in the field, the submitted proposal will present one key policy change that may further reduce the number of juvenile delinquents both now and in the future. The suggested change will include the creation of the Department of Juvenile Outreach, an extension of the city's ongoing efforts at rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. This policy proposal will take into consideration social disorganization and subculture theories to explain juvenile delinquency further. The creation of the Department will coordinate and facilitate community programs and social services aimed at targeting juveniles at-risk of offending or even re-offending. For the purposes of implementation, this policy will also include budget and personnel requirements as well as different measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the suggested changes in reducing criminal activity among juveniles in Illinois and possibly even the United States.
The Progressive Era ignited one’s greater desire for family unity however, teenager delinquency was increasing. Judge Benjamin Barr Lindsey is noted for one’s contribution to the American family with the creative plan of Juvenile Court Systems which was formed in 1901(Campbell, 1978). Judge Lindsey wanted to insure that minors would not be punished through adult judicial systems. The Juvenile Court Systems currently offers more services than originally planned. Juvenile Court provides services which protects neglected and abused minors and also is responsible for collecting child support payments.
The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.
Juvenile Courts in the United States find their origins in English custom and law. As early as the 16th century, poor laws and chancery courts were meant to protect minors, either through allowing the government to take custody, or protect their property rights respectively. These actions were justified by the legal philosophy parens patriae, which holds that the government is the true guardian of the needy and infirm, including dependent children, which gives the government authority to act on behalf of a child. This philosophy was the original guiding principle that the juvenile system held at the turn of the 20th century, although the juvenile system began to shift back towards crime control and the adult system during the late 20th century.
The historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States is one that is focused on forming and separating trying juveniles from adult counterparts. One of the most important aspects is focusing on ensuring that there is a level of fairness and equality with respect to the cognitive abilities and processes of juveniles as it relates to committing crime. Some of the most important case legislation that would strengthen the argument in regard to the development of the juvenile justice system is related to the reform of the justice system during the turn of the 19th century. Many juveniles were unfortunately caught in the crosshairs of being tried as adults and ultimately receiving punishments not in line with their ability to understand their actions or be provided a second chance.
This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has come to be what it is today. When a juvenile offender commits a crime and is sentenced to jail or reform school, the offender goes to a separate jail or reforming place than an adult. It hasn’t always been this way. Until the early 1800’s juveniles were tried just like everyone else. Today, that is not the case. This paper will explain the reforms that have taken place within the criminal justice system that developed the juvenile justice system.
The book “No Matter How Loud I Shout” written by Edward Humes, looks at numerous major conflicts within the juvenile court system. There is a need for the juvenile system to rehabilitate the children away from their lives of crime, but it also needs to protect the public from the most violent and dangerous of its juveniles, causing one primary conflict. Further conflict arises with how the court is able to administer proper treatment or punishment and the rights of the child too due process. The final key issue is between those that call for a complete overhaul of the system, and the others who think it should just be taken apart. On both sides there is strong reasoning that supports each of their views, causing a lot of debate about the juvenile court system.
As of today, the juvenile justice systems are still being refined, although it took many years to even create juvenile courts. The delinquents of America were being placed on the wrong side of the law. In other words, juveniles were being placed in institutions with adults. Many kids who had nowhere to go or had done nothing wrong were the ones being incarcerated. However on the other hand, as for the kids who were on the streets causing trouble, the nature or seriousness of their crimes did not matter, just the simple act of committing a criminal act placed them side by side with adult miscreants (Center on
Harassment, reckless endangerment, and burglary are all juvenile offenses. These juvenile offenses almost always stay on the juvenile’s criminal record, and the offenses displayed on a juvenile’s criminal record may cause employers, educators, and other authority figures to think less of the juvenile offender. As a viewer can see, this one mistake or lapse in judgment can ruin the juvenile offenders chance to further their success in life. For example, juvenile offenders may not obtain the dream job that they have always wanted, get into the college that they have always wanted to, or be eligible for a scholarship whether athletic or academic. However, there is a loophole in the juvenile justice system called teen courts. Teen courts give first-time offenders and some re-offenders a second chance because the offense (s) do not go on their criminal record, and their peers get to decide what sanctions the juvenile offender receives or performs. The big question that I am going to discuss throughout this essay is do juvenile offenders who appear before teen courts recidivate?
The focus of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate juvenile offenders, rather than to imprison and punish like the systems adult counterpart. According to Caldwell (1961) the juvenile justice system is based on the principle that youth are developmentally and fundamentally different from adults. This has lead to the development of a separate justice system for juveniles that was initially designed to assist troubled juveniles providing them with protection, treatment, and guidance. When performing as it is designed and up to the initial intentions, the juvenile court balances rehabilitation (treatment) of the offender with suitable sanctions when necessary such as incarceration. According to Mack (1909) the focus of the juvenile justice system has shifted from “how can we help the child”, “why did the child commit the crime” to “was the crime committed”. According to Griffin (2008) in some cases juveniles may be required to be “transferred” to adult court. The prerequisites for transfer to adult court are the duty to protect the public from violent youths, serious crime, and the lack of rehabilitation chance from the juvenile court. According to Flesch (2004) many jurisdictions handle the issue of serious juvenile crime by charging juveniles as adults. Charging a juvenile as an adult is done by a method which is called waiver to adult court. This waiver allows adult criminal court to have the power to exercise jurisdiction over juveniles and handle the juvenile’s case as an adult’s case would be tried. According to Flesch (2004) a juvenile is both tried and if convicted of the crime the juvenile will be sentenced as an adult when his or her case is waived from the juvenile court. Waiver to adult court initially was viewe...
This paper describes the various legislations and movements that were established in 19th century to address the issue of juvenile justice system. It outlines the challenges faced by the legislation and movements and their implications in addressing the issues of the juvenile justice system.
The juvenile system was first established in the United States around 1899 when Illinois had their first court appearance including a juvenile. This then led to the Nation’s first juvenile system being created, which was for youth under the age of eighteen who have been convicted of crimes. Up until then, most youth were tried as an adult until the system was put into place. The system has different sections in which they youth is taken in such as: intake, adjudication, disposition, and post adjudicatory.
The Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1899 was the first juvenile court established in the United States (Locked Up…). The juvenile court was created to handle the offenders on the basis on their rather than their crime. In the 1980’s and 90’s many states passed laws to try teens as adults (Should Juveniles…). The court system served to the minors under the age of sixteen. The courts didn’t typically support disciplinary actions. The people in charge did everything in their power to not have the victim spend time in a juvenile detention center or better yet prison. Remedial sentences were the most common types of discipline (Locked Up…).