Essay on Juvenile Justice System - 557 Words

This paper describes the various legislations and movements that were established in 19th century to address the issue of juvenile justice system. It outlines the challenges faced by the legislation and movements and their implications in addressing the issues of the juvenile justice system. Late eighteenth and early nineteenth century was the beginning of creating a difference in the way delinquents were handled. Historically, an offender who was above seven years of age was imprisoned together with the adults. Though an offender who was between seven and fourteen years of age was presumed as one who is not able to form the required criminal intent it gave the prosecutor room to prove otherwise. A house†¦show more content†¦However, due to the rise in juvenile crimes, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act were amended to state that for weapon violations and crimes that involved violence the juveniles would be tried as adults. The juvenile courts have greater discretion in disposing of a case than an adult court, as they are given power to actually take a child from the custody of their parent to a facility or a foster home. The current juvenile courts have been accused of diverting from the historical idea of the first juvenile courts which was to treat the child offender as one who needed rehabilitation. Instead, after committing the offence the offender is not given a chance to turn his or her life around. An example is given by Stier (2009) of America where two juvenile court judges were accused of receiving 2.6 million dollars in exchange for sending the juvenile offenders to detention centers that were owned by private individuals. Some of the minors sent to these centers were petty offenders, for instance, Wilkes-Barre a 14 year old who stole loose change from an unlocked car to buy chips was locked in a detention center for a year. It has been argued by researchers in the case of Roper v Simmons that the part of the brain where rational decisions are made does not develop until one is in their early to mid twenties. Therefore, courtsShow MoreRelatedJuvenile And Juvenile Justice System752 Words   |  4 PagesThe juvenile justice system and criminal justice system also known as the adult justice system is two different systems. The juvenile justice system is children who are under the age of 18 years old. After the age of 18, it is considered to be an adult it will enter through the adult justice system. There ate states that allows youth to stay in the juvenile justice system from age 18 until 21. The main differences between the juvenile justice system and criminal justice system is rehabilitation andRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System And Juveniles1663 Words   |  7 Pagescriminal justice system and juveniles, there have been many landmark cases that have made a significant impact on the juvenile justice system. The cases arise from dealing with certain aspects that comes from handling juveniles entering the system. Since juveniles are very different from adults they have to deal with them a certain way and a case by case basis. The court cases concerning juveniles and the decisions that have come from them is what has made what the juvenile justice system is todayRead MoreJuveniles And The Juvenile Justice System1559 Words   |  7 PagesJuveniles 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 choiceRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System For Juveniles139 7 Words   |  6 Pageswere treated the same as adult criminals. If you are a young person under the age of 18 and you commit a crime, you will have your case heard in the juvenile justice system. The thing is that, it hasn’t always gone that way. The idea of a separate justice system for juveniles is just over one hundred years old (American Bar). Where did juvenile justice come from? The law was in the image of the common law of England. William Blackstone, Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, first publishedRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System1313 Words   |  6 Pages Today s concept of the juvenile justice system is relatively new due to significant modifications in policy overtime. The justice system has been trying to figure out effective ways to treat juvenile criminal offenders successfully for years. The justice system did not always have a special category for juveniles and their crime. Juveniles was once treated as adults when they committed crimes and were subjected to harsh punishments. The juvenile court was the culmination of efforts of the positivistRead MoreJuvenile Justice Systems833 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Juvenile crime is a term around the world that is difficult to pinpoint and although there are several definitions many fail to be concrete. There are many factors that play into sentencing juveniles or minors upon a crime committed. How old are they? Can they mentally form criminal intent? Are they old enough to no longer be treated as children? Some people would argue that a criminal is just that, regardless of age. Research on the other hand shows that juveniles have underdevelopedRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System788 Words   |  3 Pages 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 rateRead MoreThe On The Juvenile Justice System Essay1236 Words   |  5 Pages I would request that Senator Perkins vote against the proposed amendments to the Juvenile Act. Part A Although public safety is both a legitimate and justifiable concern, the proposed changes to the purposes clause would go against the primary purpose of the juvenile justice system, rehabilitation and treatment as opposed to punishment. During the 19th century, the American legal system tended to treat juveniles who violated the criminal law much as it did adult offenders. Consequently, if courtsRead MoreJuvenile Justice And The Juvenile System4789 Words   |  20 PagesJuvenile Justice Consultant 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 enforcementRead MoreJuvenile Justice System856 Words   |  4 Pagesthe juveniles. A juvenile is someone who is at or below the upper age of the original jurisdiction in their resident state (Juvenile Justice, 2013). Juveniles due to age are not treated at the same level as adults; due to this we have Juvenile Justice. Juvenile justice was said to be considered all the way back to the early years from the English brought over to American culture from England (Juvenile Justice, 2013). Since then in America we have ha d 5 major periods in the Juvenile Justice system