The Influence Of Punishment In Juvenile Courts

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).

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

In the United States, though different states have different transfer laws regarding ways a juvenile could be transferred to criminal court, most states used one of these transfer laws; once adult/always adult laws, reverse waiver laws and blended sentencing laws. Under once adult/always adult laws, a juvenile who have been tried as adults will be prosecuted in criminal court for any subsequent offenses. Reverse waiver laws, on the other hand, makes it possible for juvenile who is being prosecuted as an adult in criminal court to appeal their case to be transferred to juvenile court. A compromise between those who wanted rehabilitation and those who wanted punishment for the juvenile offender, blended sentencing laws appear to be the law that could determine the appropriate Court of Jurisdiction for juveniles.

How would you feel if the police arrested kids all over our country to jail for just crossing the street the wrong way or pushing another kid on the playground? That is what is happening to many underage juvenile all over the United States; they are being sent to adult prisons for crimes that do not deserve such severe punishments. Why they were tried as adults is an enigma and we will explain why this is a terrible injustice. In 1899 children in between the ages of 7-14 were believed they were incapable of committing criminal intent. The court system back then believed that if enough evidence could be gathered to convince a jury, the underage person would be convicted and sent to an adult prison. Currently in our state, persons as

There have been many studies conducted that examine ways in which the juvenile justice system responds to female offenders. Historically juvenile female offenders have been treated under status offense jurisdiction (Zahn et al., 2010, p. 10). United States Courts would exercise the principle of “parens patriae” to place the female in detention as a form of punishment for misbehavior (Sherman, 2012, pp. 1589-1590). This principle also remains prevalent as it pertains to how the juvenile justice system currently responds to juvenile female offenders.

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.

I do not think there is anything to help equip juveniles deal with the issues getting transferred to an adult prison. While in juvenile detention the youths are house with 53 other young kids sentenced as adults. Once the prisoner turns 18 they get transferred to the adult block where now there are 200 hundred other inmates and also bucking with another cell mate. Also it seems like In the documentary the kids were pushed to get and finish getting their G.E.D. while in jail. I don’t think there would be the same type of encouragement in adult prison. Last is while serving time in juvenile detention you was house with similar aged people and for the most part was there to do their time without trouble. Didn’t have any hardened criminals

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.

There are serious flaws with the way the US judicial system prosecutes juveniles. Although there is a juvenile court system in place to try youth offenders, the way it is being implemented is different between each state. In addition, some states even go further and try youth offenders, depending on the crime they committed, in an adult criminal court. In recent years, juvenile crimes face harsh punishments in the US, and the number of juvenile offenders sent to youth courts is decreasing, based on the data (“The Sentencing Project – Juvenile Justice,” 2015). This decline of cases being sent to the juvenile courts indicates that more cases of youth crime are being transferred to adult courts. Trying a child as an adult contradicts to UN’s rights of the child as listed on FACT SHEET: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (p.1 – 4), which shows that by transferring a child to an adult correction facility, we are denying that child of his/her rights.

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).

Should juveniles get adult jail sentences? In today's society juvenile offenders are facing the law to full force, in two court systems. Not only are they tried in the juvenile justice system, but also charged as adults. The issue of charging juveniles as adults has stirred various views owing to the violent crimes committed by the young offenders. Politicians comment that the best solution is to lock up juvenile offenders for a long time and ignore rehabilitation. However, prior researches on the topic of juvenile delinquencies suggest that trying young offenders in the adult legal system and putting them in adult prisons will only lead to increased crime, higher costs, and increased violence(John & Jiangmin 568).

However, the transfer laws do not lower the juvenile crime rates. For example, in New York a law that sent violent juvenile offenders to criminal courts did not have an effect on violent juvenile crime. Serious crimes presented before the adult criminal court included murder, assault, burglary, rape and arson. In other cases, young offenders become aware of the consequences once tried in the adult courts. When committing the crimes, they think that they will receive light punishments imposed by juvenile courts but when referred to adult courts, the youth tend to become more responsible. Therefore, prior knowledge of resultant punishment plays role in crime reduction among the youths. Subjecting the young offenders to face adult courts brings to their attention the seriousness of the matter at hand (Jeff, page 8).

(Geraghty, T., & Drizin, S., 1999). Not to mention, the role that judges play in this dilemma; not speaking out and proposing thoughtful solutions based on what they see on the overview of the problems that our juvenile justice system face (Geraghty, T., & Drizin, S., 1999). Some of their reasons for not speaking out is some are in favor of the current approach to juvenile justice, while others believe that by doing so, they will inevitably become involved in the political process, and possibly violating the Code of Judicial Conduct's prohibition against judges becoming involved in political activity and creating the impression that they lack impartiality amongst the public (Geraghty, T., & Drizin, S., 1999). Their voices need to be heard

Recidivism is a crucial aspect in criminology and its occurrence threatens peace, dunning the offender as a criminal. It is important that punishment aims at minimizing the repetitiveness of committing crimes among individuals despite their age. A criminal activity among the young population, precisely children, has been on the rise and thus the need for a deterrent. The introduction of adult punishment for juvenile offenders is a cognitive behavior approach, which is aimed at ensuring that children are afraid of committing crimes owing to their understanding of expected punishment. The adult punishment accorded to children depicts what they may end up getting for continued behavior (Arya, 2010). This, therefore, acts as a major deterrent to commenting crime, precisely in regards to recidivism. The introduction of this law has played a major role in discouraging criminal behavior among individuals with the fear of being incriminated and ending up in jail. The introduction of adult punishment, therefore, has had a profound impact on the deterrence of criminal activities, specifically among children, who probably do not understand the consequences of their actions.

there was no rape. Since the boys were tried as adults, the public was made known of this instance. All social media will depict these boys as people who was charged of rape, and make it hard for them to be employed in the future. This will ruin the innocent boys’ reputation and future.