Comparing The Convention On The Charter Of Rights Of The Child

The Australian criminal justice system approaches young offenders through unique strategies to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. Even though young offenders commit a higher percentage of crime compared to adults, young offenders also have the highest likelihood to be rehabilitated and change their lifestyle as they mature, resulting in a lower court appearance percentage due to the different rights children have.

I believe that the justice system should not be harder on youths because we are all too young and naive and might not really know what’s right and wrong. Also, many youth usually get peer pressured into doing wrong things and we can’t really blame them for that. Besides, if the crime is big enough, youth are taken to juvy which is a less serious version of jail. I believe that juvy gives youth criminals a chance to learn about what’s right and wrong and that is all they need. Furthermore, some youth can be given an adult sentence for some very serious crimes.

But children are a special case they cannot always stand up for themselves. They therefore need a special set of rights which take in to consideration their vulnerability and which ensures the adults that surround them take responsibly for their welfare, protection and development.

They are easily influenced and can be molded into better individuals at this age point. That is why Youth Justice System subjects young offenders to consequences like counselling and community service for his or her offence instead of just locking them up as hopeless cases. This way can steer them clear from the life of crime and promote the long term protection of the society.

There are times juveniles should not be convicted as adults because sometimes the “crimes” may not harsh enough to be charged as an adult. For example, if a 8 year old saw a gun in their mother's purse and thought it was a toy and grabbed it and began to shoot who would be at fault ? Plus children in adult prisons are 10 times more likely to be taken advantage of in their time. Research shows that children prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system are more likely to reoffend than those held in the juvenile justice

It is the very nature of the criminal justice system to hold those accountable for their actions. In the adult courts the purpos is to be judged by a jury of our peers and held accountable for crimes committed. There must be consequences faced for criminal actions. The adult and juvenile courts handle the proceedings quite differently. The adult court has a defendant whom appears for a bail hearing. The defendant than is sent to trial in front of a jury of his peers, based

Sentencing youth offenders has a different criterion then sentencing an adult as the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) has a set of principles and guidelines, which judges must follow. Sentencing is a process where a youth is either found guilty or has pleaded guilty and a judge will decide on an appropriate consequence (Justice Education Society, 2017). The process ensures youth are held accountable for their actions, focusing on a rehabilitative, or reintegrated approach. There are many ways a youth offender can be sentenced. Section 42(2) of the YCJA defines and explains sentencing options for youth offenders.

In recent times safeguarding of children has once again come under spotlight with cases such as Madline McKan and the horrific murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells. Prior to this the Children’s act of 1984 and updated 2004 version highlighted that all professionals have an obligation to report suspected abuse. There was a public inquiry in 2000 to address the failure of the law which was not upholding the protection of vulnerable children. There was changes to the legislation and the government set up The Every Child Maters (ECM) initiative. This works in line with current legislation Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 Act. This Act authorised guidance on how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004. All organisations must have the succeeding policies and procedures:

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.

Youth crime is a tough issue, with many differing opinions. Punishment and rehabilitation, one, the other, or both, all topics of debate within society. If you were to discuss the issues with the parents of a victim, it would be understandable that their opinions would differ greatly than those of the parents of the offender. Many people have formed an opinion without an in depth look at the act. Others simply do not care.

73).” He believes the juvenile court has shifted away from the idea of rehabilitation and protection of youth to more punitive measures found in the adult system, and believes youths should be incorporated into the adult system and that their “youthfulness” be seen as a mitigating factor at the time of sentencing. He proposed a sliding scale for youthful offenders in the adult system would save time and money, due to the fact both systems, regardless of terminology, are quite similar in terms of their orientation and how they deal with offenders (Feld,

Adolescents are still developing emotionally and socially and often do not understand the consequences of their actions, whereas able-bodied adults are nearly fully developed and have the mental capability of understanding the consequences. When adolescent offenders are transferred into a system where they are simply being punished as opposed to being given rehabilitation, they are not shown what is truly wrong with committing crime. Because adolescents can still be influenced, they should not be transferred to an adult criminal court where they will be put in jail, rather than helping them become law-abiding. Adults are much harder, if not impossible to influence through rehabilitation, because they are already fully

By law adolescents are not able to vote, purchase tobacco or alcohol, join the armed forces, or sign a legal contract. Children are not permitted the same rights and responsibilities as adults because the law recognizes their inability to make adult decisions. The law acknowledges that children are unable to handle the consequences that come along with the rights that adults have. By allowing them to be charged as adults is holding them to a double standard. Telling them that they are not old enough to enjoy the same luxuries as adults, but they can experience the same punishment as adults if they commit a crime. The law acknowledged the inability of children to make decisions but still allows them to suffer the same consequences as adults. Research demonstrates that transferring children from juvenile court to adult court does not decrease recidivism, and in fact actually increases crime. Instead of the child learning their mistake they are more likely to repeat it. Juvenile detention centers have programs that help reconstruct young minds and help them realize where they went wrong. Prison does not offer this same opportunity. (Estudillo, Mary Onelia)

Should juveniles get adult jail sentences? In today's society juvenile offenders are facing the law to full force, in two court systems. Not only are they tried in the juvenile justice system, but also charged as adults. The issue of charging juveniles as adults has stirred various views owing to the violent crimes committed by the young offenders. Politicians comment that the best solution is to lock up juvenile offenders for a long time and ignore rehabilitation. However, prior researches on the topic of juvenile delinquencies suggest that trying young offenders in the adult legal system and putting them in adult prisons will only lead to increased crime, higher costs, and increased violence(John & Jiangmin 568).

Finally, this all leads to one of the largest areas of conflict when trying to evaluate the effectiveness of prison terms for repeat offenders. There are many statistics on the subject that conflict with each other. Some authors claim that trying juveniles as adults actually incorporate them into the criminal world at a youthful age and leads to a lifetime of the criminal offense. Other studies believe in the power of rehabilitation to save most, if not all, of these youths. If one looks past the statistics for a moment at the actual facts, it is clear that the tougher sentences handed out in adult courts to juveniles will help deter crime. Simply put, if the person is behind bars, there is little chance that he or she will have the opportunity to commit additional crimes. If sentences for violent crimes such as murder are for youths what they are for adults, it should keep the person locked up for a sufficient number of years. Juvenile homes attempt to punish offenders in a more gentle way by offering psychological help and other rehabilitation methods. However, the sentences in these homes tend to be lighter and shorter than the sentences doled out to those criminals who were tried in adult court. Some juvenile homes are simply too nice and the variety of detainees is too great. Some teens may be held there as runaways or shoplifters. These crimes are nowhere near as violent and damaging to society. It may actually harm the mild offenders to have contact with youths who have committed violent