The Juvenile Justice System

It was supposed to provide a means of protecting the child from the harshness of the adult court, which emphasized obtaining guilt and punishing the individual (Hickey, 2010). The dichotomies of "treatment-punishment" and "chi... ... middle of paper ... ...with the juvenile justice system that are counter-intuitive to the well-being of children and proper justice. However, it remains to be seen whether the direct separation is involved, or if it is strictly because it is justice pertaining to juveniles. References: Fortas, J. (1967).

When discussing juvenile offenders, there seems to be a distinct divide between how they should be treated. Some believe such young citizens should be treated with leniency in court while others completely disagree. This raises the question, “Should minors be treated with more leniency than their adult counterparts due to their youth?” Despite that the judicial system has flaws, treating juvenile offenders as adults in a court of law proves to be disadvantageous. To start off, it is important to realize that the juvenile justice system was created to specialize in aiding the youth of today. To elaborate, “ The Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act defines juvenile delinquency (any act that is otherwise a crime, but is committed by someone under

Malice is also a factor dealing with an individual's values. The American Heritage Dictionary defines malice as "the intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another." Since juvenile offenders have to have malice to commit their crimes, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the... ... middle of paper ... ...e punishment is not strict enough because of a criminal being tried as a juvenile, the balance of society remains upset and the basic needs of the victim have not been met by the government. In conclusion, juvenile offenders should be tried as adults. Adult classification enables the judicial system to punish offenders to the fullest extent of the law.

Urbina and White (2009) state that ... ... middle of paper ... ...inal court system for the safety and protection of the juvenile, as well as the surrounding community. If a juvenile is likely to receive more help through the adult criminal court system, then this action should be proceeded with. If a juvenile is a very serious offender, or continues to repeat their criminal actions, then the juvenile court system is not having the proper affect on them; therefore they should be transferred to the adult criminal court system and processed with this way. Considering the life of a young adult will be altered, there are very serious circumstances to consider and is not to be taken lightly. The actions of the court may have long-standing, or harsh, affects on a juvenile.

Whichever way the juvenile is helped there are plenty of ways to help juveniles prepare themselves for their future of becoming an adult, and the consequences that come with actions. There are many reasons why juveniles should be treated differently than adults in the criminal justice system. Many things can separate a juvenile from an adult; not just generally, but mentally as well. Juvenile’s brains are not developed as much as an adult’s brain is. If a juvenile is treated differently than they can receive rehabilitation rather than being treated like an adult and getting charged like one.

Understanding children’s mental and emotional development is crucial for developing an effective system of adjudicating and rehabilitating the offender. DJS.state.md.us finds that, in the nineteenth century trying youths separately from their adult counterparts became an apparent necessity. Social reformer’s attempts noted that sentencing a child in adult (criminal) court could yield a worse fate for the child than if the court took an alternate tack. Prior to 1899, when the initial juvenile court was founded, a young delinquent was treated as an adult regardless of their untested decision-making abilities. “The primary difference between juvenile courts and adult courts was that the juvenile courts were ‘civil’ in nature while adult courts were ‘criminal’.” (djs.state.md.us) Rehabilitative procedures remained steady until the 1980s when juvenile crime made a violent upsurge, instigating public opinion to deviate from genteel practices.

It’s about holding them accountable for their actions by placing them in adult jails to set an example for others, a deterrence. The problem lies in ignoring the general separation the law has in housing juveniles and adult offenders separately. Juveniles should be tried and sentenced separately because their cognitive learning and correctable behavior will be different than that of an adult. According to the Texas Law Review (2004), “Juvenile courts recognize two main kinds of juvenile offenses. Juvenile crime is simply criminal activity committed by a juvenile.

However, the Juvenile Justice system was developed by states because of the demographics in cities. In the 1800s, the state seeing the developing cites and the effect it was having on the young population, they had to develop a system control the youths. The states were now actively practicing the concept of “parens patriae.” Initially, child offenders above the age of seven were treated and incarcerated like common offenders. Since then some of the objectives that have been set for the juvenile justice system have included the “rights of youth,” creating a hate among the youth towards jail terms, and compliance with the “due process of law” has made the system harsh and in some cases inhuman. The earliest Reformatory Refuge was built in 1824 ... ... middle of paper ...

These areas will be briefly analyzed to give adequate explanation of the issue and whether additional protections serve the purposes of criminal and social justice. Law enforcement officials have a very important task when dealing with the rights of a juvenile at the time of arrest. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges recommend that a script be used by the judges to ensure that the due process rights of the juvenile are maintained (Bartollas and Miller, 2008, P.141). When the custody of a juvenile takes place all procedures must be followed in accordance with the state law. If procedures are not followed at the time of arrest, the case could potentially bring legal actions against law enforcement and juvenile court officials.

These juveniles have the opportunity to be molded into functioning members of society, yet lack the necessary resources to do so. This occurs due to the negative connotation that comes with juvenile delinquents and their behaviors. Every country has their own ways of dealing with crime, and in particular juvenile delinquency, in this piece there will be an in depth analysis of the United States juvenile justice system and England’s juvenile justice system. Although there are many similarities between both developed countries England’s approach to juvenile justice is more effective long term by its implementation of rehabilitative and restorative programs. In return tackling the problem of high recidivism rates and reintegration into society.