The Rise Of Juvenile Crimes

There are times juveniles should not be convicted as adults because sometimes the “crimes” may not harsh enough to be charged as an adult. For example, if a 8 year old saw a gun in their mother's purse and thought it was a toy and grabbed it and began to shoot who would be at fault ? Plus children in adult prisons are 10 times more likely to be taken advantage of in their time. Research shows that children prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system are more likely to reoffend than those held in the juvenile justice

In the early 1990s media was portraying juvenile crime as running rampant. It was reported that children were killing old ladies or innocent bystanders. This called the public to question if treating juveniles with rehabilitation and protection like it has been historically done was really the best option. This lead to many states making it easier for prosecutors to file charges against

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

The act’s framers were concerned with the framework of the juvenile justice system. Believing that they could restrain juvenile delinquency through prevention rather than punishment, they increased the quality of the juvenile justice system. Policy specified that, “kids should be treated as kids” (Ravenell, 2002). However, rising crime rates throughout the late 1970s and 1980s lead to disillusionment with the system. The public became concerned that juvenile justice policy was too lenient. Practitioners scrambled to enact harsher penalties in an effort to slow the rising juvenile crime rates. The new policies restricted lenient punishment such as probation and lead to an increase in incarceration rates (Meade & Steiner, 2010).

Skip Hollandsworth candidly explores the subjects of juvenile crime and sentencing in the electronic long form newspaper article, “The Prisoner”. The purpose of the essay is to inform the reader about juvenile sentencing and to persuade the audience that there are clear problems with aspects of the U.S. prison system. The article is easily accessible to a large audience because it is online. Hollandsworth takes into account that his audience, mostly consisting of Texas Monthly readers, may already have pre-established notions about the topic, so he considers other sides while still supporting his argument. Edwin Debrow, a preteen member of the Crips, committed a murder when he was 12-years old and received a 27-year sentence through the

Controversy arose in 1998, about the definition of who was considered as a minor or an adult or what the average appropriate behavior was (Brown, 1998). People back then weren’t sure the age of accountability was which raised uncertainty. The crime data at the time showed that juvenile crime increased 70% from 1986 (Brown, 1998). U.S citizens were bombarded by this increase in crime and would have led to hysteria. Crime had risen to its peak in U.S. history, which concerned U.S. citizens

Groups like, American Jail Association and the American Civil Liberties Association have tried really hard to keep children out of adult prisons. Placing juveniles in adult prisons will save money but it was increase the number crime in the future once those kids get back on the streets.

Minors that do serious crimes, like assault or drug trafficking, shouldn’t be charged as adults. Some people say,”Old enough to do the crime, old enough to do the time”,but sending them to an actual adult jail, will make them much more worse, rather then giving them the help they need. According to the Centres for Disease Control, young people who are charged as adults are nearly 35% likelier to be rearrested than those who are tried as juveniles. Minors tried as juveniles are less likely to be rearrested because, they get the help they need. The minors in a juvenile facility receive counseling and other support they need to turn their life around. From The New York Times Upfront magazine, a 17 year old who was charged for attempt of murder was send to a juvenile facility and really turned his life around, having a bachelor’s degree and planning to graduate high school.

Most of the time, the system has proven itself to be unsuccessful in dealing with juvenile crimeMost often, the system is unsuccessful. “There are kids who are five times more likely to be raped or otherwise sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities. The risk of suicide is likewise much higher for juveniles in adult jails.”(How to reduce crime Pg 3). When juveniles are sent to jail, they are still relatively impressionable from people in the prison, and may go back into crime after they’re released, hindering rehabilitation and just creating another violent criminal in the world. The court sentencing the criminal is also at

Sending juveniles to jail not only hurts the juveniles themselves but it also hurts the American economy. In the article, “Children in adult jails; Juvenile Justice” by The Economist statistical data is displayed to show the affects of being tried as adults have on juveniles and the economy. Some may ponder and think how sending juveniles to prison would hurt the economy. According to the article, “It is costly: more than $31,000, on average, to incarcerate an adult for a year” (The Economist). Juveniles who are tried as adults and sent to prison fall under that price tag. It is incredible to think the federal government would spend $31,000

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.

The United States leads the world in the incarceration of young people, there are over 100,000 youth placed in jail each year. Locking up youth has shown very little positive impact on reducing crime. Incarcerating youth have posed greater problems such as expenses, limited education, lack of employment, and effect on juveniles’ mental and physical well-being.

Currently to deal with juvenile offenders involved in the youth crime, there are two options available. The first option that prevails to a larger extent is known to us as incarceration while the second option that is slowly gaining trends is known to us as rehabilitation programs. This paper focuses on thorough analysis of both these options and the impact that they have on the offenders as well as the society as a whole. The paper also assesses the viability of these options in order to determine which of these will prove to be more effective and beneficial.

By law adolescents are not able to vote, purchase tobacco or alcohol, join the armed forces, or sign a legal contract. Children are not permitted the same rights and responsibilities as adults because the law recognizes their inability to make adult decisions. The law acknowledges that children are unable to handle the consequences that come along with the rights that adults have. By allowing them to be charged as adults is holding them to a double standard. Telling them that they are not old enough to enjoy the same luxuries as adults, but they can experience the same punishment as adults if they commit a crime. The law acknowledged the inability of children to make decisions but still allows them to suffer the same consequences as adults. Research demonstrates that transferring children from juvenile court to adult court does not decrease recidivism, and in fact actually increases crime. Instead of the child learning their mistake they are more likely to repeat it. Juvenile detention centers have programs that help reconstruct young minds and help them realize where they went wrong. Prison does not offer this same opportunity. (Estudillo, Mary Onelia)

Most people feel that, until recently, the juvenile justice system served our country and our children very well. Beginning in the 1970's, the nature of juvenile crime became different. Juvenile crime grew more common and more violent, and the system was not prepared.