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Juvenile delinquency problems
Juvenile courts and corrections
Juvenile delinquency problems
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Juvenile justice is the area of criminal law for a person not old enough to be held responsible for their criminal actions (“Juvenile Justice”). In most states this kind of categorization is determined by age, set at eighteen years old. In general, juvenile law is governed by state law and most states have an individual juvenile code set in place that contributes to the number of youth in detention centers today (“Juvenile Justice”). Despite the lowest youth crime rates in twenty years, according to Holman and Ziedenberg (2006), hundreds of thousands of juveniles are locked away each year. Detention centers are intended to provide temporary housing for youth who are described as having high risk of re-offence before trial or who are likely to not attend their trial at all. The problem starts because the nation’s use of detention is rising, and facilities are packed with young who do not meet the high risk standards. About seventy percent of youth detained are arrested for nonviolent offenses (Holman & Ziedenberg, 2006). So my question is how do all of the negative effects associated with youth detention centers warrant an arrest for a child who is not harmful toward himself or others? The juvenile justice system, across the board, stays true to the statement that the purpose of their programs are to focus on rehabilitation and not punishment to the youth. So why then do youth in detention often have higher rates of emotional trauma, unstable and unsavory home lives, histories of violence, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities when compared to youth who never see the inside of such a facility (Koyama, 2012)? The negative effects from youth centers break down into physical, mental, social and emotional issues in the juve... ... middle of paper ... ... Legal Information Institute. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Juvenile_justice Koyama, P. (2012). The Status of Education in Pre-Trial Juvenile Detention. Journal Of Correctional Education, 63(1), 35-89. Lambie, I., & Randell, I. (2013). The impact of incarceration on juvenile offenders. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(3), 448-459. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/science/article/pii/S027273581300010X# Macro, Mezzo, and Micro Social Work. (n.d.). Social Work License Map. Retrieved April 18, 2014, Retrieved from http://socialworklicensemap.com/macro-mezzo-and-micro-social-work/ Snyder, H. N., & Sickmund, M. (2006). Juvenile offenders and victims: 2006 national report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Juvenile Justice Reforms in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2011, from Juvenile Transfer to Criminal Courts: http://www.ojjdp.gov
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.
Kim, Catherine Y., Daniel J. Losen, and Damon Hewitt. 2010. The school to prison pipeline: structuring legal reform. New York: New York University Press.
In the last 42 years little to no changes have been made to correct the standards that govern punitive measures towards juvenile delinquency. Today juvenile law is governed by state and many states have enacted a juvenile code. However, in numerous cases, juveniles are transferred to adult court when juvenile courts waive or relinquish jurisdiction. Adolescents should not be tried in the adult court system or sentenced to adult penitentiary's on account of: teen brains are not mature which causes a lack of understanding towards the system, incarceration in an adult facility increases juvenile crime, and children that are sentenced to adult prison are vulnerable to abuse and rape.
American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. (2017). Grand Challenges for Social Work. Retrieved from Promote Smart Decarceration: http://aaswsw.org/grand-challenges-initiative/12-challenges/promote-smart-decarceration/
The juvenile justice system faces a significant challenge in identifying and responding to the psychiatric disorders of detained youth because research has shown that it is difficult to define the best means to use and enhance the scarce mental health resources (Kessler & Kraus, 2007). According to Cocozza and Skowyra (2000) “Children’s and adolescents’ mental health needs have historically been addressed inadequately in policy, practice, and research and have only the number of youth with mental illness and their level of unmet needs recognized” (p 4). Furthermore, that the juvenile justice system has gone from treatment and rehabilitation to retribution and punishment, that the prevalence is higher for youths who are involved with the system have mental health disorders when compared to the general population. In this paper I will be discussing pathways of juvenile detentions, types of mentally ill juvenile offenders, working alliance, treatment/intervention options available, challenges of untreated mental illness, and research findings.
The questions for the courts to ponder evolve around the mental state of the juvenile, the potential for physical violence when placed in an adult prison environment, as well as the emotional impact of incarceration with an adult population. Steinberg L, Scott E, 2003).
Vandergoot determines that the reasoning capacity of an adolescent, the ability to make legal decisions, and filter unnecessary information is unclear to a juvenile in the justice system; the vagueness of youth stepping into the courts prevents them from fully participating in the justice system. ( Vandergoot, 2006). As a result of this impreciseness youth encounter Vandergoot concludes a separate justice system allocated for youth to adhere to adolescent needs. Vandergoot discusses the Youth Criminal Justice Act a justice system devised to adhere to youth needs. She summarizes the system that benefits young offenders in contrast to adult offenders.
Youths who have entered the justice system have often been diagnosed with mental disorders or diseases. “A majority of adolescents formally involved in juvenile court have at least one, if not more than one, significant emotional or learning impairment, or maltreatment experience” (Mallet, 2013). The existence of these diseases often effect the juvenile’s stability and ability to make rational decisions. Which may result in them engaging in criminal activities The prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders among youths in juvenile justice systems is reported to be between 30 percent and 50 percent (The mental health needs of juvenile offenders). The difficulties of these disorders are often
The concept of restorative justice became a game-changer in juvenile justice system. Through the course of time, professionals explored every possible methods and approaches that could positively affect the children without the expense of harming their future and wellbeing. The idea of restorative justice is “administer justice that focuses or repairing the harm done to the victim and the community. (Save the Children-UK, 2005)” The four guiding principles are to: (1) Repair and restore the balance within the community. (2) restitution for the victim. (3) Ensure that the offender understand and take responsibility. (4) Help the offender to change and improve. In South Africa, this is practiced in their community throughout
Teitelman, R. B., & Linhares, G. J. (2013). JUVENILE DETENTION REFORM IN MISSOURI: IMPROVING LIVES, IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY, AND SAVING MONEY. Albany Law Review, 76(4), 2011-2017.
Over the years many laws and policies have been created and altered. As a result many activities have become illegal. With so many laws in place now, juvenile crime is also on the rise. More and more juveniles are being sent to prison than ever before. The goal of the juvenile justice system was to rehabilitate but now it is more focused on punishment. However, many rehabilitation programs are still in place to help delinquent juveniles get back on the path to becoming successful productive members of society. One program that comes to mind is the restorative justice program.
Taylor, A. (2003, February). The International Child and Youth Care Network. Retrieved 8 14, 2010, from CYC Online: http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0203-offenders.html
Loeber R., and D.P. Farrington. “Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions.” Thousand Oaks. 1998. First Search. Feb 2007
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.