Chapter Two
Literature Review
Introduction
The juvenile justice system in America has been through numerous phases of growth. In recent years, it has endured extensive changes that have taken place as a product of reforms made to revitalize the innovative principle of juvenile justice, the idea of bringing individual justice and treatment to the heart of the system. This assessment of related literature looks particularly at the accessible studies on juvenile detention centers in order to prove the negative effects of taking a disciplinary approach in juvenile justice. It starts with an historical evaluation in order to place the increase of detention centers in context. This paper subsequently goes on to talk about detailed problems
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Finally, literature on the juvenile justice system often focuses on program implementation and effectiveness at addressing rehabilitation, as well as diversion techniques within the system (Greenwood, 2008). This review audits these problems in detail and establishes them within the bigger struggle in the juvenile justice system to rehabilitate youth offenders.
Historical Context Juvenile justice has proved to be as imprudent as it is practical. Snyder and Sickmund (1999) found that as early as 1825, there was a significant push to establish a separate juvenile justice system focused on rehabilitation and treatment. The procedure continued to stay focused on the rehabilitation of a person, even though financial support and assets sustained to hold back its achievement. In reaction to rising juvenile crime rates in the 1980s’, more corrective laws were approved (Snyder and Sickmund 1999). In the 1990s, the United States legal system took further steps regarding transfer provisions that lowered the threshold at which juveniles could be tried in criminal court and sentenced to adult prison (Snyder and Sickmund 1999). Furthermore, laws were enacted that allowed prosecutors and judges more discretion in their sentencing options; and confidentiality standards, which made juvenile court proceedings and records more available to the public (Snyder and Sickmund 1999), were reduced. Simpson (1976) found that other recent
Whether a child who has committed a serious crime deserves rehabilitation or harsh punishment has been argued and the Juvenile Justice System is being blamed. Children who deserve real punishment are receiving rehab and children who deserve rehab are receiving harsh punishment. Many children’s lives are getting ruined because of unnecessary harsh punishment. Some juvenile offenders are not learning their lesson. The article “Sentences Show Acknowledge Juveniles’ Maturity, and Immaturity,” by Laurence Steinburg and the article, “Remember the Victims of Juvenile Offenders,” by Jenifer Bishop-Jenkins differ not only in their views of issues surrounding the American juvenile justice system, they differ in quality; however, Steinburg who argues for rehabilitation, clearly presents the best argument using logical reasoning and relevant evidence.
The Juvenile Justice System was established in 1899 when the first documented court hearing took place in Cook County, Illinois. This type of court system was designed to discipline, treat, and rehabilitate children under the legal age of eighteen, who are caught and/or convicted of committing crimes against society. Since its creation, many have argued for and against having two separate but parallel court systems. This essay will discuss the basic arguments in favor of and in opposition to the retention of the juvenile justice system.
It has been one hundred years since the creation of the juvenile court in the United States. The court and the juvenile justice system has made some positive changes in the lives of millions of young people lives over the course or those years, within the last thirteen years there has been some daunting challenges in the system.
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
Juvenile correctional systems have many different components and some are likely to be affected with a primary focus on rehabilitation. Today the United States falls short of providing adequate public juvenile facilities. With a focus on punishment, the need for new facilities will continue to rise. Switching the primary focus to
The United States juvenile justice court was based on the English parens patriae adopted in the United States as part of the legal tradition of England. But the efforts of the state to rehabilitate juvenile offenders with institutional treatment with the houses of refuge and reformatories failed. Today, the United States has 51 different juvenile court systems; the laws and statutes vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Thus, each state’s approach to handle the youth offenders is responsible for how the youth offenders will experience the justice system. Both the past and the present approaches to deal with juvenile offenders have shaped today’s juvenile justice system.
When most people think about the American criminal justice system some of the first things that come to mind is corruption of officers and courts, or jails with prisoners. One of the last things that come to mind is the juvenile justice system. Nevertheless, nothing is more important than the juvenile justice system because the juveniles within the system are the future working class and citizens of America. Therefore, it is important that they receive the necessary punishment and rehabilitation to move past mistakes they previously made. However, there are aspects that push against the goal of rehabilitation in the juvenile justice system such as the misuse or lack of money, the harshness of the punishment, and the programs within the
USELESS JUVENILE INCARCERATION SYSTEM 2A Broken Juvenile Detention SystemThe juvenile detention system is broken because all troubled teens should be treated for instead of punished, rising recidivism rates are caused by punishment itself. The youth spends a lot of time that could be spent in a classroom behind bars. This issue is like a butterfly effect affecting society. The youth should be getting treated instead of being punished, serving punishment is the root of the problem. Justice cannot be served with racism floating throughout the air, racism pollutes the verdict.First off, wasted time is a wasted effort and time is something that can’t be received back.Juveniles are humans and have minds, actions, and feelings like every human being, it has to be kept in mind that control can’t be kept over everyone. Think about owning a restaurant, logically an owner won’t want to remain open in business if work is slow, get very little customers, receive bad reviews, use tools in an unsafe manner endangering people around you. Well I wouldsay a detention facility is very similar. If it’s not bringing any benefit to the youth or their families, then what is the purpose of having these facilities as a form of punishment? Facts are provided based off some of these facilities major flaws. “Specifically, the report will show that these facilities are frequently: (1) dangerous, (2) ineffective, (3) unnecessary, (4) obsolete, (5) wasteful, and (6) inadequate. A subsequent chapter addresses the question of public safety,finding that states where juvenile confinement was sharply reduced in recent years experienced more favorable trends in juvenile crime than jurisdictions which maintained or increased their correctional facility populations....” (Mendel, 2013). Logically, based on the results provided it issafe to say that not confining juveniles will show a positive outcome. The juvenile crime rates are favorably lower for cities and help maintain correctional facility population to a norm. Solid
“The juvenile justice system was first created in the late 1800s to reform United States policies on how to handle youth offenders. Since that time, a number of reforms - aimed at both protecting the "due process of law" rights of youth, and creating an aversion toward jail among the young - have made the juvenile justice system more comparable to the adult system, which is a shift from the United States’ original intent (2008,Lawyer Shop.com).” The
Barry Feld (1999) argues against juvenile courts by stating that the historical ideal of a rehabilitative welfare agency for young people has been scaled down to a second-class criminal court for kids. The juvenile
This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has come to be what it is today. When a juvenile offender commits a crime and is sentenced to jail or reform school, the offender goes to a separate jail or reforming place than an adult. It hasn’t always been this way. Until the early 1800’s juveniles were tried just like everyone else. Today, that is not the case. This paper will explain the reforms that have taken place within the criminal justice system that developed the juvenile justice system.
The juvenile justice system and its policies is a revolving cycle fluctuating between a rehabilitation model and a punitive model. Dating back to the colonial era, juveniles were arrested, convicted, and sentenced the same as adult criminals. In 1899 the first juvenile court was established in Cook County during which time reformers believed that juveniles could be rehabilitated and deterred from becoming adult offenders (Hinton, Sims, Adams, and West, 2007). Juvenile courts stepped into the acting the role of parens patriate which appoints the state as parent or guardian. Early institutions focused on life skills and vocational education. From the inception of the juvenile justice system until early 1900’s, the focus was on rehabilitation.
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 nation’s first juvenile court was established in 1899 as a part of the Juvenile Court Act. It was founded on three principles: juveniles are not ready to be held accountable for their actions, are not yet fully developed, and can rehabilitate easier than adults. In all but three states, anyone charged with committing a criminal act before his or her eighteenth birthday is considered a juvenile offender. Now more than ever, states and countries have begun to question the reliability of the juvenile court. Some believe the juvenile court system should be abolished because of its insufficient gain to the community. Others believe children are not fully capable to understand the degree of their actions and the consequences that come from them and believe that juvenile courts are a necessity in the court system.
Before some kids can graduate high school, get a driver’s license, or vote, many juveniles are ripped from their homes and sent to juvenile detention centers. They will now spend the next week, three months, or year of their life surrounded by other troubled teens, have minimum contact with siblings, parents, and other family members, suffer through isolation, removal of visitations, and overcrowding. The use of juvenile detention centers is overused and the practices within these centers have damaging effects on teens.