Balancing Justice and Rehabilitation Essay

Juvenile delinquency is an ever growing issue in the United States, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, “In 2012, there were 3,941 arrests for every 100,000 youths ages 10 through 17 in the United States” (OJJDP, 2014). The way juveniles are treated in the criminal justice system is very different than the way adults are. In 1899, in Cook County, Illinois, the first juvenile justice system in the country was founded. This established an alternative way of dealing with offenders whom are inherently different, in the way they think and commit crimes, than those of adult age. There are a few distinct differences between the juvenile and adult criminal system, but the biggest difference is the

The criminal justice system approaches young offenders through unique policies to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. They take special care when dealing with juveniles in order to stop them from repeat offending and stop any potential bad behaviour which could result in future. Juveniles have the highest tendency to rehabilitate and most adopt law-abiding lifestyles as they mature. There are several factors influencing juvenile crime including psychological and social pressures unique to juveniles, which may lead to an increase in juvenile’s risks of contact with the criminal justice system.

There are many similarities and differences between the adult and juvenile justice systems. Although juvenile crimes have increased in violence and intensity in the last decade, there is still enough difference between the two legal proceedings, and the behaviors themselves, to keep the systems separated. There is room for changes in each structure. However, we cannot treat/punish juvenile offenders the way we do adult offenders, and vice versa. This much we know. So we have to find a way to merge between the two. And, let’s face it; our juveniles are more important to us in the justice system. They are the group at they

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

There’s an old saying, “don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time”. Our youth is doing the crimes, not realizing the true consequences of their actions; hence their immaturity. “Per a 2011 report on the National Institute of Corrections, 250,000 minors wind up in the adult criminal justice system each year.” (Hannum, 2016). But that does not mean, they should be tried as an adult for their crimes. Nor should they get off easy because they are under the age of eighteen. You can pick any day of the week, about 10,000 of our children are being put in adult prisons and jails. (Hannum, 2016). Nearly every year, the FBI arrest more than 33,000 young adults under the age of eighteen for offenses.” (Khan, 2010.). It’s time for society and our

The juvenile justice system can be dated back to the late 18th and early 19th century. Youths were confined to jails with mentally ill and hardened criminals because there were no other alternatives for them. Many of these youths were in these institutions for non-violent offenses. During this same time, many American cities had to find a solution to the overwhelming rate of child neglect. Today, there is still much debate about the well-being of youths in the criminal justice system. The juvenile justice system plays an important role in society because it allows youths the opportunity to change their behavior. The current system is effective in providing programs for juveniles in an effort to

Juvenile delinquency has become a controversial issue within the Criminal Justice system. In the United States, juvenile delinquency refers to disruptive and criminal behavior committed by an individual under the age of 18. In many states, a minor at the age of 16 to 17 ½ can be tried as an adult. Once the individual reaches adulthood, the disruptive and criminal behavior is recognized as a crime. However, the criminal justice system has divided juvenile delinquency into two general types of categories that has brought upon controversial issues of inequality and corruption. Yet, putting young individuals in juvenile detentions facilities seems to open the door for them to commit more crimes in the future. Therefore, under certain circumstances juveniles should be tried as an adult.

It is often stated that the future lies in the hands of our offspring’s. Meaning, that the youth are our future adults. The world revolves on the status of the children and what they will do to contribute to life. Accordingly to The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquent Prevention 1.8 million juveniles were arrested in 2009 (OJJDP). The Juvenile Justice system holds the keys to unlock many doors of broken children that are on the wrong path in there adolescent life. The difference between children and adults is that children have a greater capacity for change when an adult can be more resistant to it (JLC.org). This is one reason why The Justice System should give additional help to the Juvenile Corrections System.

The Juvenile Court authorities must weigh the interests of public security with the needs of wayward youth when making determinations in regards to the most suitable program(s) and the level of circumscription necessitated. There have been thousands of juvenile programs which have been developed and undergone comprehensive recidivism analysis by outside auditors over the past thirty years. Objectives require balance in selecting correctional options that meet individual offender needs to contribute to crime reduction and prevent recidivism. Incarceration is necessary to incapacitate violent offenders; however, there are better alternatives for non-violent offenders who are not career criminals. Programs of incarceration for low offense juvenile

Although many believe that having a young adult go to jail is a reasonable and helpful punishment, it has been proven to be insufficient. In the article “Prison Is Too Violent for Young Offenders” it says ”Young prisoners overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness and hopelessness cannot focus on changing their thinking and behavior because they are focused on how to survive.” This quote shows us that treating young adults as if they were adults does help them understand and learn from their mistakes. Instead of rehabilitating themselves, thinking of what they have done and how to heal, they have to try to survive the harsh conditions of jail. They have to avoid being injured, raped, abused, and many other inconveniences of jail.

This paper examines the effectiveness of the American justice system surrounding juvenile offenders not yet responsible for their punishable acts. Although the purpose of the juvenile justice system is the rehabilitate and deter juvenile offenders from breaking laws, evidence suggests the justice system is ineffective and unjust. The sentencing of juveniles is unjust and ineffective because juveniles are not mentally developed enough to make rational decisions, incarcerating juveniles is costly, and youth incarceration does not discourage youth from committing more crimes, and the incarceration of juveniles often results in mental and physical abuse of the youth.

The need of diversion programs in juvenile correctional settings is on an increase. Two conflicting impulses dominate the desire to decrease the number of reoffending juveniles. The first is a compassionate approach that concentrates on treating the youth whereas the second approach uses punishment to protect their focus, which is community safety (Artello, Hayes, Muschert, & Spencer, 2015). It is important to note that not all individuals are impacted in the same way therefore many approaches aimed towards assisting the youth within the justice system exist. Due to the Progressive Era Reform, the state has the ability and responsibility to protect the welfare of children leading to treatment that hopefully divert them from continuously

The underlying rationales of the juvenile court system are that youth are developmentally different from adults and that their behavior is impressionable and able to be fixed. Rehabilitation and treatment, in addition to community protection, are considered to be primary and viable goals. If we can

Every year thousands of youth are incarcerated for petty crimes or crimes that they may not have fully understood at the time. Incarcerating youth not only sets them up for failure, but it also costs the tax payers of this country millions of dollars every year (Rejust paper). Although it seems just for a person to do the time after committing a crime, perhaps there is an alternative to incarceration. The most appropriate alternative to incarceration appears to be restorative justice. Restorative justice is based

Juvenile delinquency has been a problem in the United States ever since it has been able to be documented. From 100 years ago to now, the process of juvenile delinquency has changed dramatically; from the way juveniles are tried, to the way that they are released back into society, so that they do not return back to the justice system (Scott and Steinberg, 2008). Saying this, juveniles tend to