Does the Juvenile Justice System Work?

Placing a juvenile in a detention center early in the court process increases the risk that youths will be found to be delinquent and damage their prospects for future success. A majority of the youths that are placed in these facilities pose little or no threat to the public and essentially do not need to be there. This portion of the juvenile court process is detrimental to the future and mental aspects of a youth’s life. We desperately need to change the way that we handle the juvenile court system because we are only reinforcing the delinquent behavior that these youths have been exposed to. We need to focus on the rehabilitation and prevention efforts for these youths not the punishment aspect and until then (insert a better ending).

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

Bartollas & Miller (2008) states that the future of the juvenile justice system faces a variety of challenges, the population of juveniles under the age of eighteen will increase between 2000 and 2025, about one half of the 1% per year. By 2050, it is estimated that the juvenile population will be 36% larger that it was in 2000. Given this population growth of juveniles in the years to come, it looks like the juvenile justice system will have greater demands placed on it.

Does the criminal justice system work? This is a very interesting question indeed? Many proponents of system believe it to be a deterrent to manner would be criminals across the United States. However, many pundits point to high profile cases of Trayvon Martin or Emmett Till to show the inequities inherent within the criminal justice system (Crowe, 2012). Proponents for the criminal justice system believe that it is a deterrent for others who are thinking about committing egregious crimes in the future. They also believe it provides closure for those who have been innocently wronged by the death of a loved one. These individuals usually believe in the principle of, "An eye for an eye," in regards to life. The general principle that is fundamental to the argument for the criminal justice system is retribution. The belief is that all guilty individuals must be punished. The punishment should correspond to the severity of the crime in all instances irrespective of the circumstances that govern the act. In the case of murder, the individual should be punished with the death penalty. This argument states that real justice requires people to suffer for their wrongdoing, and to suffer in a way appropriate for the crime (Gardner 1978). These supporters believe is ethical as the crime and the punishment correspond with each other based on severity.

In America on any give day, approximately ten thousand juveniles are housed in adult prisons and jails. Approximately two hundred thousand juveniles enter the adult criminal justice system each year and most have non-violent crimes. Juveniles in the adult jails lose out on the educational and psychological benefits offered by juvenile detention facilities and

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

Juveniles are still developing children that deserve to be rehabilitated if possible. To begin with, juveniles that are given a second chance are unlikely to continue committing violent crimes. Juvenile are unaware of how a severe of a crime they have committed. Their actions may label them as adults but the truth is kids are not adults. These juveniles see the consequences they

“I think it's important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven't had the right mentors and supporters around them because of circumstances beyond their control,” (qtd. in Brainy Quotes) are wise words from Q'orianka Kilcher, a human rights activist. Many Americans feel adolescents should be held accountable for their behavior; however, trying them as if they are adults is not always the optimum course of action. Because the teenage brain matures from back to front, the prefrontal cortex is not established until mid-twenties. Ordinarily adolescents can be rehabilitated in order to avert future offending; yet when tried as an adult, all hope for rehabilitation is lost. A one time mistake will follow an adolescent around for the rest of his/her life, dramatically decreasing the opportunities for success. Trying adolescents as adults is an injustice due to their lack of rationality and potential for rehabilitation.

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.

The United States leads the world in the incarceration of young people, there are over 100,000 youth placed in jail each year. Locking up youth has shown very little positive impact on reducing crime. Incarcerating youth have posed greater problems such as expenses, limited education, lack of employment, and effect on juveniles’ mental and physical well-being.

The goals of juvenile corrections are too deter, rehabilitate and reintegrate, prevent, punish and reattribute, as well as isolate and control youth offenders and offenses. Each different goal comes with its own challenges. The goal of deterrence has its limits; because rules and former sanctions, as well anti-criminal modeling and reinforcement are met with young rebellious minds. Traditional counseling and diversion which are integral aspects of community corrections can sometimes be ineffective, and studies have shown that sometimes a natural self intervention can take place as the youth grows older; resulting in the youth outgrowing delinquency.

Criminals can be all different ages; one particular category of criminals is the juveniles. A juvenile is someone who is at or below the upper age of the original jurisdiction in their resident state (Juvenile Justice, 2013). Juveniles due to age are not treated at the same level as adults; due to this we have Juvenile Justice. Juvenile justice was said to be considered all the way back to the early years from the English brought over to American culture from England (Juvenile Justice, 2013). Since then in America we have had 5 major periods in the Juvenile Justice system.

“I used to believe are our future but now I realize that this, sadly isn’t the reality. Through laws that treat kids like adults, the government is throwing away the future of children in this country.” (D. Lee) An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults. The term juvenile refers to any young person under the age of 18. For most states in the United States, the age of majority is 18. While there are many things that juveniles are unable to do until they reach the age of 18, being charged as an adult for a crime is not amongst those things in some states. Juveniles are not allowed to vote, drink alcohol, or sign a legal contract, yet they can be charged and treated like adults when it comes to them being

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

The National Report Series in 2013 revealed that nearly 1.1 million delinquency cases involved juveniles. From 1985 through 1997, the number of delinquency cases climbed steadily at 62%. Despite that these cases fell by 44% from 1997 to 2013, we could still see that our society today is suffering from a serious juvenile delinquency problem. After committing violent crimes, these juveniles are release and undergo rehabilitation programs. The Washington Post claims that there is more hope of rehabilitating young offenders and that punishment of minors must be properly graduated and proportioned. However, the fullest measure of the law should never be selective even for these delinquents. Although rehabilitation programs are provided for juveniles, incarceration and penalties should be implemented because these are more effective ways in taking the full responsibility of the crimes they did and in preventing them to make future offenses.