Juvenile Crime Paper

What is a Juvenile? A juvenile is a person who has not reached his or her 18th birthday. Juvenile delinquency is the violation of a law of the United States committed by a person prior to reaching 18 years of age, which would have been a crime committed by an adult (office). There are many residential programs put in place all over the country to help these youths that are coming in and out of the Criminal Justice system. Once these Juveniles come out of jail, or get released on bond, they sometimes do not have a stable place to go to and live. As these youths are leaving the jail facility there are a wide variety of residential programs to help them get back on their feet. These residential programs include Out of home placement in an institutional or camp like setting, or they might be eligible for an alternative placement, such a community confinement. (programs)

In the adult justice system the guilty person would face a trial by a jury. The jury would be given the evidence of the crime, decide if the person is guilty or not, then judge would make the final running. As well at the end of an adult trial a punishment would be handed out such as imprisonment sentence. Where in a juvenile case the judge would decide what form of rehabilitation the child would benefit most from and what would best likely help.

If adult and juvenile case procedures were the same many juveniles would have criminal records going into adulthood for minor offenses or even just mistakes in judgment that could affect his or her future. Adults have a better understanding of the laws and what is right and wrong in addition the consequences of their choices than juveniles do.

The juvenile court system has a higher concentration on rehabilitating offenders so that they do not end up in adult courts. In the juvenile system, rehabilitation is the most used philosophy so that the children in the courts may have the opportunity to live a life outside of prison. Adult courts do try and rehabilitate those that are found guilty of committing crimes, but more often than not, rehabilitation is combined with incarceration. Adult courts also differ from juvenile courts because in adult courts there is a presentation of evidence to try and determine guilt. Juvenile courts on the other hand examine the actions of a juvenile and try and determine how to rehabilitate the individual.

Today, the court system in this country is divided into two groups when comparing juveniles and adults. One is the Adult Criminal Justice System, and the other is the Juvenile Justice System. The terminology can be very different between the two systems. For instance; if an adult is arrested, they will be subject to a bail hearing. If a juvenile is arrested they must go through a detention hearing. Adults have trials which can be decided by a judge or jury. Juveniles go through a fact finding hearing and don’t receive verdicts because they are adjudicated. “They are not found guilty, but delinquent or involved” (Komiscruk). Another difference between the two is that juvenile court rooms are usually closed to the public, which

One large difference is that there are certain crimes that are only illegal because of the age of the juvenile, these are called status offenses. The best example of a status offense is drinking, it is only illegal because juveniles are underage, and an adult wouldn’t be in trouble for drinking. The steps of the arrest process are named differently in the juvenile court system; there is denial instead of pleading not guilty, admission instead of a guilty plea, and juveniles are found delinquent instead of found guilty. Although these steps in the arrest process are called different names, they are essentially the same, with only subtle differences; it is not until after a juvenile is found delinquent that more differences are present. Once a juvenile is found delinquent, the court must decide what punishment is appropriate for the crime, unlike adult court where there is a common punishment for each specific charge; there are many factors that affect the delinquent’s punishment.

There are significant differences between the juvenile and adult criminal court system. For example, "in the adult system, the goal is to punish. In the juvenile system, on the other hand, the goal is to rehabilitate and serve the minor's best interest. Juvenile courts are often more informal than those for adults. For example, rules about the admissibility of evidence may be more lenient," according to legalmatch.com.

Another important thing to note is the differences between the adult court system, and the juvenile court system. The adult court system can deal with things of arrest, hearing, arraignment, criminal trial, etc. Where as the juvenile

According to Alarid (2015), the two most distinctive differences between adult and juvenile systems are the punishments given and the role of the judges in each system. Within the juvenile court system the judge, lawyers, and officer tend to play a more active role in the ruling than in an adult court system. The term parens patriae means the juvenile justice system does what is best for the welfare and safety of a minor who is unable to support themselves (Alarid, 2015). In a juvenile court, they focus more on the rehabilitation of the offender and give alternative punishments than in an adult court proceeding which would most likely give jail time. Another difference between the two is that an adult court gives the option for a jury trial

The being tried as an adult is most common when the juvenile court does a "Judicial waiver" that transfers the juvenile into an adult court system. Although the main power is held by the state on whether they want to give the judge these powers, or in some cases for very serious crimes, they are waived so that the juvenile is instantly tried as as an adult.

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

There was once a time in which juveniles were treated just as adults. There were no such things as juvenile justice system and there was very little progress in which was being incorporated. Originally the court process was informal, nothing more than a simple conversation between the

Many risk factors tie into juveniles committing crimes and these crimes contribute to the national statistics in the United

The issue has been a controversial one for a long time. The two justice systems, juvenile court and adult court have been long established for decades. Both involve people accused of crimes with the basic individual rights in the court. According to Pacific Juvenile Defender Center, it stated, “Youth may be held under juvenile court jurisdiction from age 12 until age 21, or until age 25 if he or she is committed to the California division of juvenile justice.” The purpose of juvenile court system was set up for those youths who are not as mature and cannot be held as adults. However, juvenile crimes are becoming more often and heinous, it is necessary to focus more on punishment rather than rehabilitation from the juvenile

Although, each state varies in legal terms, a juvenile is a youth that is either at the age or under the age of 17 (Bartollas & Schmalleger, 2014, p. 5.) The Office of the United States Attorneys simply addresses it as, a person who has not attained his/her eighteenth birthday (Stevens, 1998.) Delinquent acts committed by these minors after often collected and measured to track trending behavior patterns. Beginning in 1930, The Uniform Crime Report Program was designated to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the attorney general to maintain all the data criminal data reported to the police (Bartollas & Schmalleger, 2014, p. 27.) The Uniform Crime Report is used to measure the arrest statistics or crimes reported to the police such as arrests made or persons arrested, with this information the measurement of juvenile delinquency is found to be largely spread across the United States (Bartollas & Schmalleger, 2014, p. 27.) Moreover, investigative techniques such as surveying, whether from self -reporting or victims themselves, allow for the acknowledgement of delinquent acts that are not reported to the police and would have remained undocumented otherwise.