Juvenile delinquency refers to a status offense that is committed by a minor under the age of 18. Status offenses include crimes against property, for example, vandalism or stealing, physical violence against others for example, aggravated assault, murder, other crimes such as drug abuse violations, curfew and loitering, and driving under the influence; and sexual crimes for example sexual assault or rape (Enginurt, Ozer, Demir, Yildirim, & Cankaya, 2014; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, n.d.). Statistics of crimes committed by juveniles include the following: 225 arrests for violent Crime Index offenses for every 100,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 17 years-old, juveniles were known to be involved in 8% of all homicides, and violent crimes committed by juveniles peaked during the after school hours (National Institute of Justice, n.d.).
Juvenile Courts deal with minors who have been accused of committing a delinquent act and are considered juvenile delinquency cases. When a case is heard is juvenile court the prosecutor typically looks at the following things according to lawyer Kathleen Michon (2015): the severity of the offense, the juvenile 's age, the juvenile 's past record, the strength of the evidence in the case, the juvenile 's gender (boys are more likely to be charged than girls), the juvenile 's social history, and the ability of the minor 's parents to control his or her behavior (p.1). Two options are seen in juvenile court, they are
Juvenile Delinquents are being incarcerated at earlier ages as time progresses. The term delinquent speaks of two or more youths, typically amongst the ages of ten and seventeen years old, who are involved in doings well-defined as illegal. The study of juvenile delinquents in inner city Chicago have been studied for many years and the rates continue to sky rocket as juveniles are being locked down by the justice system. Cases of violence amongst juveniles has been increasing rapidly in the past 20 years, juveniles are now linked to severer crimes, and it can be speculated that regardless of efforts of rehabilitation that the recidivism of juveniles relapsing is very great. Thus leading to physiological and mental problems that can be damaging to the youth as
Juvenile Delinquency is the participation of illegal behavior by a minor who falls under a statutory age limit. A delinquent is a minor who commits a crime or a status offense. A status offense is conduct that is illegal only because the child is under age i.e. smoking cigarettes (Senna 10, 20). The cases of Eric Smith, Lionel Tate, and an unidentified NJ child are similar only because, they are guilty of killing another child, but the Criminal Justice System treated and punished them very differently. In August 1993 in Savona, New York 13 year old Eric Smith killed 4 year old Derrick Robie. Smith lured Robie into the woods and strangled, beat with large rocks, and sodomized Robie. Smith was questioned by police and kept changing some
Today, the juvenile system primary goals are crime reduction and rehabilitation. The juvenile officials must assess whether youthful offenders are likely to commit crimes in the future and whether they can benefit from interventions. If these kids cannot benefit, then they will most like end up a delinquent. In most states delinquency is defined as the commission of a criminal act by a child who was under the age of 18 at that time (Virginia Rules). Most states allow youth to remain under the supervision of the juvenile court until the age of 21, but this depends on the type of crime that was committed. There has been many times where a juvenile case was transferred to an adult criminal court. This would have to be done thru a process called a waiver. A waiver is when a judge waives the protections that the juvenile court provides (Larry J. Siegel). Cases that
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.
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.
A "juvenile" for jurisdictional purposes as an individual between the ages of 10 to 18 years old, albeit in a few expresses 16- and 17-year-olds may be dealt with as grown-ups when they have perpetrated a wrongdoing. A delinquent child is characterized for the most part as a youngster who has damaged any state or neighborhood law; a government law or law of an alternate state; or who has gotten away from control in a nearby or state remedial office. Juveniles are liable to police mediation for a more extensive scope of practices than are grown-ups. Greater part of youngsters confess to participating in a few sorts of reprobate conduct, however just a little number of youth are ever captured by cops, and significantly less are ever alluded
Juvenile Delinquency seems to always find itself on the front pages of newspapers. The juvenile delinquency rate is very high in America, today. According to Seigel and Welsh (2014) juvenile delinquency is defined as the participation in illegal behavior by a minor who falls under the statutory age limit (p. 648). The statutory age limit varies in different states. For example, a juvenile might be considered an adult in different state for various crimes. Statistics show that each year, juvenile commits about 9.8 percent of almost 12,000 homicides (Zagar, Grove, & Busch, 2013).
Juvenile delinquency is very important to understand. Juvenile delinquents are children who commit crimes, but to their age are unable to be judged in criminal law. The long term of criminal acts make the person a juvenile delinquent. The age of what is considered a juvenile varies depending on the state. The range can extend to the age of 21. The importance of understanding juvenile delinquents equips one to examine persistent problems that cause a child to be delinquent. The problems could include drug use, problems in school, and mental health problems. If you get to the bottom of the root of a issue necessary measures can be taken by involved parents such as if a student is having issues at school the parent could attend the
The juvenile system does not have trials it has hearings for offenders, which incorporates his social history as well as legal factors. Defendants in the criminal justice system are put on trial, which is based largely on legal facts. The huge difference is the impact a juvenile’s social history has on punishment if any. By looking at other factors in a youth’s life and not only the facts of the case you can take the proper steps to determine where the juvenile messed up, why and how to prevent it from happening again. In contrast only using the facts of the case in an adult court case makes establishing precedent easier. If a crime has been committed and it fits the description it doesn’t matter what other problems the accused has had in the past, they are found guilty and sentenced according the precedent established by other
Juvenile court is a type of specific court that functions within the judicial system. Every state has this special courts that transact with juveniles, individuals between the ages of 10 and 18 in most states, who have been suspected of violating an unlawful act. Adults are accused of crimes and juveniles are commonly accused of delinquent acts. Subsequently, children have a lesser understanding of the regulations, so they receive or are awarded special protections. They do not have all the constitutional rights that adults have because they are minors. A minor could be tried as an adult and will not receive special protections, if they have violated certain atrocious crimes.
The American criminal justice system is comprised of criminal courts, correctional facilities, and law enforcement officials. Each of these components also make up the juvenile justice system but the operations of each differs with juveniles than with adults who are suspected of committing criminal acts. A juvenile offender is an individual under a certain age who is suspected of having committed a crime or a status offense. A status offense is an offense that if committed by an adult, would be legal or acceptable. Examples of status offenses are truancy, under aged consumption of alcoholic beverages, and running away from home. Law enforcement officials use their discretion when determining how to pursue status offenses involving
According to DeFrances and Strom (1997), age criteria usually define a juvenile based on state statutes under the original jurisdiction of the juvenile court system. In 37 states and Washington D.C., juvenile delinquents are usually children between the ages of 10 and 18 who have violated the law. In 10 states the upper limit is 16 and in the three remaining states the upper limit is 15. Despite the differences, there are exceptions to the age criteria that allow prosecutors process a juvenile as an adult (DeFrances & Strom, 1997). Juvenile delinquents commit “delinquent acts” as opposed to adults who commit “crimes”. Delinquent acts are categorized as acts that would be considered a crime if committed by an adult or acts that normally would not be considered a crime if committed by an adult. Juveniles in the first category may be tried as adults in court in some jurisdictions. Delinquent acts in the second category are typically known as “age-related acts” such as breaking curfew or truancy (“Juvenile Delinquents”,
The juvenile justice system handles criminal cases for youth under the age of majority, which is 18 in most states. Most cases involving juveniles are tried in juvenile specific courts. There’s some exception, those exceptions along with everyone over legal age tried in standard criminal courts for adults. One of the characteristics setting the juvenile system aside from the adult system, is that the sentencing differences between adult and juvenile cases is significant.
Juvenile Criminal Law is a relevant issue in today’s juvenile criminal Justice system. A growing number of states are re-examining and amending juvenile laws to reduce unnecessary reliance on secure confinement. Minors under the age of 18 years, who commit a crime, or otherwise violate established rules and statutes, are identified as juvenile delinquents, juvenile offenders, youthful offenders, or delinquent minors. When the police arrest a minor, or juvenile, there are differences from arresting an adult. While the juvenile may be handcuffed, fingerprinted and photographed - as adults can, teen offenders must be handled carefully ("Arresting Kids - Lawyers.com," n.d.). In juvenile cases, a "status offense" involves conduct that would not be a crime if it was committed by an adult -- in other words, the actions are considered to be a violation of the law only because of the youth 's status as a minor (typically anyone under 18 years of age). Some examples of status offenses include underage drinking, skipping school, and
When a juvenile commits an act that would be criminal if committed by an adult, the juvenile is determined to be delinquent. Delinquent acts may include crimes against persons, crimes against property, drug offenses, and crimes against public order. Delinquency prevention efforts seek to redirect youth who are considered at-risk for delinquency or who have committed a delinquent offense from deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system (Deling, 2014).