Juveniles

1273 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Punishment for juvenile crime

As I entered the juvenile detention facility on 150th, I began to wonder about the female detainee I was going to interview regarding placement. I am sitting in a locked room with a desk, two (2) chairs and a large plexie glass window. As the staff arrived she was accompanied with Farouka (the name has been changed to protect confidentiality). Farouka is a 14-year-old Caucasian/Hispanic female small in stature, wearing county "blues" (issued clothing). She appeared fearful and teary eyed. She has been detained and adjudicated due to strong-armed robbery. Farouka was involved with two other young people in robbing another 14-year-old in front of a 7-11 convenient store. They beat and kicked the victim and stole approximately $20.00 in cash. The convenient store clerk had interrupted the crime. As a result of the beating the victim was taken to the hospital.
During the interview Farouka was very unclear of her punishment (group home placement for 12 months) and felt it was too harsh. Her reasoning was because it was her first offense. However, Farouka had been expelled from school due to fighting and required to go to continuation school. There is a history of truancy, out of parental control, drug and alcohol abuse. It is clear that due to her many questions she was unable to deduct the reasons behind her consequence. It is because of the circumstances and situations, similar in nature to that of Farouka’s our government has been forced to re-evaluate juvenile crime in America. Although trends in America show that society wants to try juveniles as adults for violent crimes, rehabilitation for the majority of our youths is the best solution.

Juveniles Tried as Adults 2
Due to the evolution of increasingly dangerous and serious violent crimes committed by today’s youths, law makers have been put in the position according to Schwartz, to "give our communities a false sense of public protection" (CQ Researcher, 1994). This is done through the creation of legislation aimed at punishing juveniles for the crimes they commit. However, it is clear that trying juveniles as adults does not address the crime rate or why violent crimes are committed, because it is simply a quick-fix policy that only surfaces around election years, implying that "it’s political" (Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, 1996). Secondly, the majority of crimes ...

... middle of paper ...

... information was known before the infamous strong-armed robbery, it could have been prevented through early intervention. Farouka could learned new behaviors and gained tools, which should could live a more positive and productive life.

Juveniles Tried as Adults 5
References
Biden, J. (1998, Winter). Attacking Youth Violence. Criminal Justice Ethics, v17 il p.2(1).
Glazer, S. (1994, February). Juvenile Justice. CQ Researcher, v4 p.171-183.
Hollin, C. (1990). Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions with Young Offenders, Psychology Practitioner Guidebooks. p.7.
Howell, J. (1997) Improving the balance between child development and juvenile punishment in a comprehensive strategy: a comment on Vila. Politics and the Life Sciences. V16 nl p.2894).
Lew, B., Hicks-Marlowe, J., Reid, J., Patterson, C., & Weinrott, M. (1991). A comparative evaluation of parent training interventions for families of chronic delinquents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, v19, p15 (19).
Mowatt, R. (1996, January 11). Harsher penalties urged for juveniles in California. Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, p. 111K6230.
Valentine, V. (1998, October). Youth Crime, Adult Time. Emerge Magazine, 48-52.

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Adult Criminal Justice System

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    The adult system’s shifts leaked into the juvenile system, causing an increase in incarcerations even when delinquency rates were declining at the time. Juvenile reform legislations prompted more compulsory sentencing and more determinate sentences for juveniles, lowering of the upper age of juvenile jurisdiction, considerable ease in obtaining waivers to adult court for juvenile prosecution, and made it easier to gain access to juvenile records as well. Furthermore, it led to greater preoccupation with chronic, violent offenders, which in turn led to a redirection of resources for their confinement. Thereby, the absence of reliable criteria for identifying such offenders tends to stereotype all delinquents and is more likely to raise the level of precautionary confinements. These three major shifts in juvenile justice policy demonstrate the power and depth of traditional beliefs about the causes and cures of crimes in U.S. society. It also shows how the system can bend for a time in the direction of new approaches to prevention and control. Today, we are presently in a time of conservative responses where the prevailing views about crime express beliefs about prevention, retribution, and incapacitation that are profoundly rooted in our

    Read More

  • Raising Adam Lanza Summary

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Frontline documentary Raising Adam Lanza, reporters Alaine Griffin and Josh Kovner from “The Hartford Courant” investigate the possibilities that prompted Adam Lanza to commit the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza didn’t leave behind a trail. Lanza didn’t leave a diary, wasn’t socially involved (had no friends), and destroyed his computer that many believe have the answers as to what induced his character to murder 20 children, six adults, and his own mother. The documentary commenced with Griffin and Kovner exploring the life of Nancy Lanza who had been portrayed by the media as the person to blame for her son’s actions but also to be questioned on whether or not she truly was a victim.

    Read More

  • No Matter How Loud I Shout Summary

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within the last five years, violent offenses by children have increased 68 percent, crimes such as: murder, rape, assault, and robbery. Honestly, with these figures, it is not surprising at all that the Juveniles Courts focus less on the children in danger, and focus more on dangerous children. This in fact is most likely the underlying reasoning behind juveniles being tried as adults by imposing harsher and stiffer sentences. However, these policies fail to recognize the developmental differences between young people and

    Read More

  • No Matter How Loud I Shout

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    This quote by Edward Humes sums it up the best, “The fundamental question Juvenile Court was designed to ask - What's the best way to deal with this individual kid? - is often lost in the process, replaced by a point system that opens the door, or locks it, depending on the qualities of the crime, not the child.” (No Matter How Loud I shout, 1996, p. 325). The courts need to focus on what is best for the child and finding punishment that fits the child not the crime.

    Read More

  • Juvenile Justice

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    The problem of dealing with juvenile justice has plagued are country for years, since the establishment of the first juvenile court in 1899. Prior to that development, delinquent juveniles had to be processed through the adult justic3e system which gave much harsher penalties. By 1945, separate juvenile courts existed in every single state. Similar to the adult system, all through most of the 20th century, the juvenile justice system was based upon a medical/rehabilitative representation. The new challenges of the juvenile court were to examine, analyze, and recommend treatment for offenders, not to deliver judgment fault or fix responsibility. The court ran under the policy of “parens patriae” that intended that the state would step in and act as a parent on behalf of a disobedient juvenile. Actions were informal and a juvenile court judge had a vast sum of discretion in the nature of juvenile cases, much like the discretion afforded judges in adult unlawful settings until the 1970s. In line with the early juvenile court’s attitude of shielding youth, juvenile offenders’ position was often in reformatories or instruction schools that were intended, in speculation, to keep them away from the terrible influences of society and to encourage self-control through accurate structure and very unsympathetic discipline. Opposing to the fundamental theory, all through the first part of the century, the places that housed juveniles were frequently unsafe and unhealthy places where the state warehoused delinquent, deserted, and deserted children for unclear periods. Ordinary tribulations included lack of medical care, therapy programs, and even sometimes food. Some very poor circumstances continue even today.

    Read More

  • Psychological Continuity Theory: The Persistence Of A Personal Identity

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    I will follow on to consider objections to the psychological continuity theory and attempt to show how they can be overcome. Lastly, I will explore differing views on the persistence of personhood and try to show how such theories are not as plausible as psychological

    Read More

  • Life Without Parole for Juveniles

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a modern Western society where there is significant amount of research done of rehabilitation and criminal justice reform, the practice of sentencing JLWOP (Juvenile Life Without Parole) seems outdated and primitive. There are a number of prominent human rights groups that advocate for the banning of the LWOP sentence for juvenile offenders. In his 2010 article for the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation titled ‘Extinguishing All Hope: Life-Without-Parole for Juveniles,’ Frank Butler breaks down the ethical arguments against the sentence from a social policy perspective. He uses a number of pertinent facts and dates to support and enhance his argument, but retains a clear and concise presentation style, making the document easy to read and comprehend on an analytical level. It is clear from his title that it is not an objective piece, but his opinion is supporte...

    Read More

  • Juvenile Courts

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Serious crimes such as murder, burglary and rape have raised questions as to whether the young offenders should face severe punitive treatment or the normal punitive measures in juvenile courts. Many would prefer the juveniles given harsh punishment in order to discourage other young people from engaging in similar activities and to serve as a lesson to these particular offenders. However, results from previous studies indicate such punitive measures were neither successful nor morally acceptable. Instead, the solutions achieved have unfairly treated the youths and compromised the society status (Kristin, page 1).

    Read More

  • Juvenile Justice

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While California's juvenile population rose by a half a million since the middle and late 1970's, juveniles made up less than fifth-teen percent of California's felony arrests in 1998, compared to thirty percent in 1978; according to the Justice Policy Institute. The juvenile arrests have dropped back, even as the population of kids between ages of ten and eight-teen has continued to grow, and the number of kids confined in the California Youth Authority (CYA) has fallen. With all the progress our society has made in cutting back in juvenile crimes there is still a very serious problem. But if locking kids up is the best way to address it, how do we explain a drop in crime when there are more teens in California and fewer in custody? First we must look at the economy around us. With so many job opportunities available more and more teenagers find honest ways to keep busy and make money. Our generation has a brighter future than the generation a decade ago. Next we look at successful crime prevention efforts: after-school programs, mentoring, teen outreach programs, truancy abatement, anti-gang programs, family resource centers. There is evidence that these programs are beginning to pay off. Sending more, and younger teens through the adult court system has been a trend across the country in reaction to crimes, such as school shootings and violent rapes. Yet evidence shows that treating youth as adults does not reduce crime. In Florida, where probability wise more kids are tried as adults then in any other state, studies found that youth sent through the adult court system are twice as likely to commit more crimes when they're release...

    Read More

  • Panacea Phenomenon Case Study

    1906 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Panacea Phenomenon project has consequences, that’s can cause problems depending on the young adult, because they may have a different way of learning speeds and behaviors, the comprehension levels are all different. Harsh discipline replaces anger and confusion among teenagers and their behavior. Parents have a big role to play in their teenager’s life, as some parent’s work all day leaving the kids being raised on their own, with nanny’s or other after care programs where kids can learn from negative influences from other kids. As studies have shown, television also has a negative influence on a teenager’s life by influencing their outlook on life with crime programs and violence. Many people have question if boot camp should be a short term program or a life style for juvenile delinquents; many have agreed that boot camp can help give them some type of structure, will help them later on life. In the United States (U.S.), the General Accounting Office (1993) reported that 26 states were operating 57 boot camps for young adults in the spring of 1992. Boot camps could hold up to a total of 8,800 recruits. The American Institute for Research (1993), appraised boot camps and found that the goal of juvenile boot camps where not made to punish offenders, but to rehabilitate them,

    Read More

  • Prison Programs For Families of Incarcerated Persons

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    Eddy, J., C.R., M., Schiffmann, T., Newton, R., Olin, L., Leve, L., et al. (2008). Development of a multisystemic parent management training intervention for incarcerated parents, their children and families. Clinical Psychologist , 86-98.

    Read More

  • Juveniles in Adult Prisons

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    A deep look into juveniles in adult prisons. Touch bases on several smaller issues that contribute to juveniles being in and effects of adult prisons. The United States Bureau of Prisons handles two hundred and thirty-nine juveniles and their average age is seventeen. Execution of juveniles, The United States is one of only six countries to execute juveniles. There are sixty-eight juveniles sitting on death row for crimes committed as juveniles. Forty-three of those inmates are minorities. People, who are too young to vote, drink alcohol, or drive are held to the same standard of responsibility as adults. In prisons, they argue that the juveniles become targets of older, more hardened criminals. Brian Stevenson, Director of the Alabama Capital Resource Center said, “We have totally given up in the idea of reform of rehabilitation for the very young. We are basically saying we will throw those kids away. Leading To Prison Juvenile Justice Bulletin Report shows that two-thirds of juveniles apprehended for violent offenses were released or put on probation. Only slightly more than one-third of youths charged with homicide was transferred to adult criminal court. Little more than one out of every one hundred New York youths arrested for muggings, beatings, rape and murder ended up in a correctional institution. Another report showed a delinquent boy has to be arrested on average thirteen times before the court will act more restrictive than probation. Laws began changing as early as 1978 in New York to try juveniles over 12 who commit violent crimes as adults did. However, even since the laws changed only twenty percent of serious offenders served any time. The decision of whether to waive a juven...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'The Prisoner's Dilemma'

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chapman’s research shows evidence of 211 stabbings taking place in three years at one prison in Louisiana. Bloody riots, rape, robberies, and exhortation are just a few of the everyday occurrences that can be expected when entering a penitentiary.

    Read More

  • The Consequences Of Juvenile Crimes

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States has been affected by a number of crimes committed by juveniles. The juvenile crime rate has been increasing in recent years. Everyday more juveniles commit crimes for various reasons. They act as adults when they are not officially adults. There is a discussion about how juveniles should be punished if they commit heinous crimes. While many argue that juveniles who commit serious crimes, such as murder, should be treated as adults, the fact is, juveniles under the age of eighteen, are not adults, and should not be treated as such.

    Read More

  • Causes and Effects of Stress in the Life of a College Student

    1655 Words  | 4 Pages

    Driscoll, Emily. “Stress in College: What Causes it and How to Combat it.” Online posting. 31

    Read More

More about Juveniles

Open Document