Changes In Juvenile Crimes

Juveniles Tried as Adults in Criminal Court 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

As more minors are committing violent crimes, the question of whether they should be tried as adults has arisen. Children as young as 13 or 14 are committing violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are being tried as juveniles and receiving milder punishments. A juvenile offender may receive a few years in a juvenile detention facility and possibly probation following his release at age eighteen. An adult committing the same violent crime will receive a much harsher penalty, often years in jail, possibly a life sentence, with little or no chance of parole. The only difference between the two offenders is the age at which they committed the crime. Juveniles over

Every individual in the United States has been affected by juvenile crime. It does not just affect the parents of the juvenile but also the neighbors, teachers, other families, and the police. Juvenile delinquency is the act of committing crimes and offenses by youth personnel. Essentially, criminal behavior engaged in by minors and is the major problem of youth in modern society. Juvenile delinquency is important because it has implicated misery to the victims and has conveyed problems to its perpetrators. While delinquency rates have been decreasing, the rates are still far too high. Numerous programs to prevent juvenile delinquency have been attempted but not all of them succeed in stopping the youth from entering the lifestyle of crime.

The Primary Facts: • The primary risk factors for criminal behavior majorly come into play in the early years of a person’s life. • Treatments include but are not limited to: “Brand name” family therapies, diversion, probation, or residential placement. These treatments that youths complete are key to saving money in the

INTRODUCTION Juvenile Delinquency has increased throughout the years. In 2008 the United States police arrested about 2.11 million juveniles. Juvenile arrest rates had increased in 2005 and again in 2006. Data show increases in some offense categories but declines in most. Most changes being less than 10% in either direction. According to the data arson at 47% is one of the biggest crimes that juveniles commit. Following are robbery at 27%, burglary at 27%, and property crimes at 26%. Juveniles are creating more problems for parents, schools, and communities. In 2007 juvenile courts dealt with a large amount of juvenile delinquents. About 4,600 cases per day were being treated at the courts (Puzzanchera, Charles).

In today’s criminal justice system in the United States, there is a lot of dispute between what the qualifications are for juvenile and adult crimes. Some believe that the only difference is age. Others say it is the severity of the crime. It’s obvious that when adults commit crimes, whether they are a misdemeanor offense or a felony, they pay for it. The confliction comes when a juvenile commits a crime. What exactly determines if they are tried as an adult or a juvenile? Does it vary by state-to-state? Are there federal laws that govern that debate? There have been cases where children have been tried in a court of law as an adult. So what exactly is the clear cut reason why juveniles are tired sometimes as adults, and other times as juveniles?

A fair comparison is, throwing a lamb into a tiger pit. Incarcerating people is punishment for wrong doings and a chance to redeem themselves. But in adult jails, children lose that chance. Physically violating minors has unimaginable impacts on such tender minds. Not to mention courts overlooking psychological stability, but this leads to unjust sentences. Ironically minors can be tried as adults, but can't be treated like them. A crime shouldn’t block a person’s path, but allow them to realize their mistake. Jailing juveniles steers them in a direction which is poisonous for

The juvenile justice system is a complex web of people and agencies that process about billions of funds on a yearly basis. To understand the system requires that you have some sort of baseline knowledge of the trends that have shaped the system’s ability to function and the roles played by the various components of the system. This policy paper provides information on changes in the juvenile justice system and analyzes why the increased prosecution sentences of juveniles in adult court is another failed “get tough “policy and does nothing to focus on the best interest for the juvenile. Before the modern era, it appeared that children who committed crimes received no type of preferential treatment. They were adjudicated, punished, and imprisoned

Imagine sitting in a courtroom, hoping the the judge will not give a harsh sentence. Unfortunately, that’s the case for many juveniles, some as young as 13! A juvenile is subject to a more severe sentence with the limited sentencing available. It is estimated that 250,000 youth are

“Palm Beach County, Fla. -- On May 26, 2000, 13-year-old Nathaniel Brazill shot his teacher, Barry Grunow, with a .25 caliber handgun in school. Palm Beach County prosecutors tried Brazill as an adult for first degree murder. The jury found Brazill guilty of second-degree murder and the judge sentenced him to 28 years in an adult facility. After his release, Brazill will face two years of house arrest and five years of probation.” (Klug)

Determination of Juvenile Justice In the past years, cases of crime committed by teenagers are found everywhere throughout the world. Sentencing options are given to youth offenders based on their circumstances of the crime that was carried out. Often, juveniles are tried as adults and are punished with a lifetime in jail. The mindset between a child and a grown person aren't the same. Due to juvenile’s lack of knowledge and maturity, crimes committed by teens shouldn’t result in them being sentenced to life without parole.

Prior to 1899 when the first juvenile court was stablished children over the age of seven who committed an offense where regarded as adult and if convicted sentenced to adult prisons. The courts contended that juveniles where not mature enough to assume responsibility for their actions and due to their undeveloped personalities, their chances of rehabilitations where higher than that of an adult offender. In the early to mid 1990's juvenile violent crime cases were on the rise. According to the National Crime Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), "About 1 in every 220 persons ages 10 through 17 in the United States was arrested for a Violent Crime Index Offense in 1996" (Snyder, 1996). Consequently, a multitude of states began to implement legislations

Youth crimes have plummeted since the late 1990’s. “First established in 1899 in Cook County, Illinois, the juvenile court became the unifying entity that led to a juvenile justice system” (cjcj.org). “Today, states are instituting major systemic reforms designed to reduce institutional confinement, close old 19th century era reform schools, and expand community-based interventions” (cjcj.org). It was not till the 18th and 19th century when courts decided to punish and put juveniles in jail sails as well as sate penitentiaries. In the past it wasn’t that many options; “since few other options existed, youth of all ages and genders were often indiscriminately confined with hardened adult criminals and the mentally ill in large overcrowded and decrepit penal institutions” (cjcj.org). It was believed sat the time America poverty and crime rates was high, so many officials had a lot of pressure to find housing and homes for juveniles for this social issue. In 3effort to solve this issue “pioneering penal reformers Thomas Eddy and John Griscom, organized the Society for the Prevention of

From the early 1980’s juveniles in custody has been on the decline, however in 2006 there were a total of 601 young males and 50 adolescent females held in detention. On an average day in 2006-07, there were around 6,000 young people under supervision and around 5,000 in a community-based monitoring and nearly 1,000 in imprisonment (AIHW, 2008). The national youth detention population remained stable over a four year period with 848 to 1,081 young people in custody on any average night. There is a small and steady downward trend in the number of 10-17-year-olds in detention and the rate of imprisonment, from 3.6 to 3.3 per 10,000 on an average night. A majority of adult criminals being their criminal careers as juveniles. Intervention and

Juvenile Crime Statistics The paper will focus and highlight some details of the statistics of juvenile crime statistics and juvenile crime itself. Is an aim to evaluate the reduction in national juvenile arrest, narcotics offenses, minor assaults, and the allegations regarding minor females, with the incousion of ethnic and racial classes.