Social Bond Between The Juvenile System And Society

InThe agencies that comprise of the youth justice system vary from the Police to youth courts. There have been areas to tackle such as the disproportionate number of BAME children together with considering the welfare of a child via the 1933 Children Act. In light of the Ameen Jogee case and other joint enterprise convictions , the trust between the police is only degraded , as they are depicted as an oppositional force for imposing the law amongst the youth population many of whom are also victims of serious crime. The distrust was illustrated in the report by Jenny Jones focusing on young people in London. She proclaimed in order to prevent crime young people must have in the Police force. It is likewise imperative that the Police develop

The United States sentences more juveniles to death than any other nation in the world (Justice, 2009) and our juveniles are being sentenced as young as ten years of age. These are juveniles being tried as adults, and something has to change and change fast. The younger generation is supposed to be our future leaders. How will our juveniles or the citizens of this country prevail if this continues we won’t be able to because most of our future leaders will be prisoner. (B, 2005)

Today’s juvenile court system handles most cases involving those under the age of 18-year-old. This was not always the case and the ideal of a separate court system for adults and children is only about 100 years old. When looking at the differences that set juvenile courts apart, it is important to study the history and see how it developed over time.

The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.

Juvenile delinquency is very prevalent especially among adolescents because studies have shown that during the time of adolescence that is when delinquency tends to increase and once adolescence has passed at about 17 years of age then it tends to decrease (Adolescent Delinquency, 2002). There are many factors that can contribute to the increase of delinquency during adolescence, some of the factors can be personality, mental disorders, genetics, economic status, environment, family, and culture among others, also to understand better the causes of juvenile delinquency the social control theory is the best theory to explain juvenile delinquency as a whole (Adolescent Delinquency, 2002).

There is much debate over whether or not juveniles should ever be tried as adults. Juveniles are defined as children under the age of 18. In the past, juveniles have been tried in a separate juvenile court because of their age. However, trying juveniles as adults for violent crimes is a trend that is on the rise. Age is supposed to be a deterrent for placing those under 18 on trial and giving them stiffer punishments that are often reserved for adults. Many debate whether or not juveniles really should have less severe punishments or if trying some juveniles as adults will lower juvenile crime rates.

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).

When thinking of reforming the juvenile justice system one has to think; what can we do to make this better for everyone involve? There are some programs that can be implemented when trying to make a change in the juvenile system. The main thing is getting parents or the guardian more involved in the child’s whereabouts. Secondly the community where the youth will have a place to go and have something more constructive to do to keep them out of trouble. Law enforcement can get involved in giving ride along and having visits to the local jails or prisons from the youth to talk to some of the inmates. Crime in life isn’t racist at all it has a no age limit, no certain gender and no social status for most of those whom decide to partake in a criminal activity. From the beginning juveniles have been an issue with law enforcement, the question has always arisen of whom will take control without cruel and unusual punishment and assist with the rehabilitation and prevention future crime actions.

Over 1/3 of the 11,000 index crime arrests were juveniles under the age of 16.

Children that are born into poverty and less than desirable conditions are more times than not, destined to become involved in the juvenile justice system. This may be due the child’s destructive behaviors or for placement out of concern for the child’s safety and well-being. Neglect and abuse is more prevalent in disadvantaged environments and causes sometimes-irreversible emotional problems. For whatever reason the child enters the system, we know that it is not a place for youth to grow, be nurtured and become productive members of society.

Juveniles committing crimes is not a new issued being introduced to society; actually, it has been an issue for centuries. However, the big question is, should juveniles be tried in adult courts? Before answering, take into consideration every possible scenario that could have led them to commit the crime. For instance, were they the leader in the act? Did they participate in the crime? Was the juvenile even aware of what was taking place? Were they peer pressured? Did they have any other choice at the time? There are so many other questions we could consider when making a decision here.

The juvenile justice system was founded with the goal to serve the best interests of the child, with an understanding that youth possessed different needs than adults. Over the course of our semester we have come across various research studies that proves that the adult system is not well equipped to house and rehabilitate the delinquents. These studies have shown that more juveniles that are transferred to the criminal justice system ends up back in the system, which means the recidivism rate is higher for those who are treated in the juvenile facility compared to those who are transferred to the adult. Researchers and academics overwhelmingly agree that the transfer policies disproportionately affect youth of color. Youth in the adult system are convicted and incarcerated at higher rates compared to their counterparts in the juvenile justice system and they also tend to receive harsher sentences. Transferred juveniles experience high rates of pretrial detention are often detained or incarcerated in adult facilities, where they have no access to resources vital to their development, and are at an unacceptably high risk for assault and abuse.

The juvenile justice system is similar to the criminal justice system. This system is where juveniles are processed, and may be arrested after referrals for juvenile delinquency. Juvenile justice is very different in every state and can be very similar as well because every system has limited jurisdiction and that most focus on the offenders and not their offenses. Therefore, there are 51 juvenile justice systems in the United States. The United States has the juvenile justice system because children are very different than adults – in that they can be better receptive for change and also being easier to rehabilitate. Moreover, the main goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation (Juvenile Law Center). The juvenile justice system is made up of police, courts, corrections, probation and parole services, as well as community-based programs to name a few (book).

In 1969, Travis Hirschi developed the Social Bond Theory. Like other social control theorists, Hirschi was interested in why the majority of society does not demonstrate delinquent behavior, as he believed most people had the natural capacity for such behavior. The social bond theory states that delinquent behavior in juveniles is not learned behavior, it is in fact a natural urge. However, the theory also states that there are social “bonds” which encourage socialization and conformity. The stronger these bonds for an individual, the less likely that individual will exhibit delinquent behavior. The four basic bonds are attachment, commitment, involvement and belief.

Juvenile justice system is important because it gives young offenders a second chance at life and to give them a better future. The main goal for the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate young offenders. The juvenile justice system has grown and changed heavily since 1899, when the nation’s first juvenile court was established in Illinois. Today’s juvenile justice system still maintains rehabilitation as its main goal and distinguished itself from the criminal justice system in important ways. I am going to talk about ways the juvenile court system can make changes, how can the changes be supported in the society, can we learn anything from the way other countries respond to the juvenile justice system, and what are the rehabilitation techniques available for helping juvenile delinquents?