Juvenile Criminal Justice System

¶ … juvenile crime," the United States continues to promote policies that channel adolescent offenders into the adult justice system ("Juvenile Justice," 2014). The PBS production When Kids Get Life examines the ramifications of trying minors as adults for serious crimes, leading to their entire lives being spent in prison with no opportunity for rehabilitation. While the crimes in these cases are severe and do warrant punishment, clearly there are other options that should be made available for juvenile offenders. The majority (87%) of adolescents in custody have been diagnosed with mental illness; a full 73% of youth in custody are diagnosed with more than one mental illness (Indig, et al., 2009, p. 21). Based on the evidence presented in When Kids Get Life and the vast body of literature on adolescent criminality, the juvenile justice system should be oriented more toward rehabilitation and mental health services than to incarceration. The whole concept of adolescence is actually new, with little to no distinction between teenagers and adults given until fairly recently in American history ("Juvenile Justice," 2014). In fact, several hundred years ago, "little distinction was made in the criminal culpability of children vs. adults," ("Juvenile Justice," 2014)....

...

This means that the current state of affairs as illustrated in When Kids Get Life is nothing new. That fact does not excuse the criminal justice system from taking a giant step backwards. Advancements of knowledge in psychology and sociology have led to an appreciation for the unique physiological, sociological, and psychological variables at play in adolescence ("Juvenile Justice," 2014). These advancements in the social sciences led to a separation of juvenile vs. adult courts. However, trying juveniles in a separate system is not in itself a solution to delinquency. In Kent v. United States (1966). The Supreme Court found that "the child receives the worst of both worlds: that he gets neither the protections accorded to adults nor the solicitous care and regenerative treatment postulated for children," p. 1). Little has changed since 1966; children are still receiving the worst of both worlds even if they are able to take advantage of due process and other inalienable rights.
While preserving the integrity of the criminal justice system and the laws embedded in the Constitution, it is necessary to envision a new method of dealing with adolescent crime. One of the most important approaches to adolescent crime is through the mental health system. Bolstering…

Sources Used in Documents:

References

Bikel, O. (Director). (2007). When kids get life [Documentary]. United States: WGBH Educational Foundation: FRONTLINE.

Indig, D. et al. (2009). 2009 NSW young people in custody health survey: full report. Retrieved online: http://www.juvenile.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/JH_YPICHSRep2009_D10b_00_opening.pdf

"Juvenile Justice," (2014). PBS Frontline. Retrieved online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/

Kent v. United States (1966). Retrieved online: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/383/541


Cite this Document:

"Juvenile Criminal Justice System" (2015, May 13) Retrieved April 18, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/juvenile-criminal-justice-system-2151149

"Juvenile Criminal Justice System" 13 May 2015. Web.18 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/juvenile-criminal-justice-system-2151149>

"Juvenile Criminal Justice System", 13 May 2015, Accessed.18 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/juvenile-criminal-justice-system-2151149

Related Documents

Juvenile Court Juvenile criminal justice system has enforced laws, which govern the rules for determining whether a juvenile criminal is eligible for a sentence or a counseling period is mandatory to alter the behaviors of such individuals. This system has been effectively placed for children less than the age of 21 who have reportedly committed crimes in various forms such as sex offenders; murderers etc. (Whitehead & Lab, 2012). In this

Juvenile Justice The Juvenile Criminal Justice System Juvenile courts and detention separate from adult courts is a relatively new concept (ABA, 2010). Before the turn of the twentieth century, the cases for individuals of all ages were managed by the same criminal and civil courts, and the same sentences were handed out to all parties. Of course, this has changed to a great extent since 1899 in the United States, but there

For example, Cook County, IL, has built a network of support for juvenile female offenders within the local community. The county has developed its own gender-specific assessment and treatment guidelines and has trained youth-facing community workers on assessing juvenile offenders and recommending programming. (Juvenile Justice Journal, 1999, p. 30). Also, the county designed a pilot network of social service agencies in order to provide a community-based continuum of care. (Juvenile

In addition, victims may make a written victim impact statement and present their statement to the court. Corrections: Identify 2 to 3 correctional facilities in Louisiana. Provide information about the types of facilities they are (maximum or minimum security); the types of designs; whether they are private or public; their population statistics; and their type of crime statistics. The Elayn Hunt Correctional Center is the second largest prison within the state

The rest of this section did not score John any points either bad or good since he appears to have a relatively stable home life in which he does not do drugs or alcohol. The other measurement that this assessment gauges is that of needs. This section looks at what things that a person may be lacking in that would make them exhibit the behavior that they are currently displaying.

Criminal Justice System Australian Criminal Justice System "When all is said and done, the current criminal justice system is about as fair and effective as we can reasonably expect" Overview of the Criminal Justice System: Fair and Effective - Penal Populism The Democracy at Work thesis proposes that politicians have been properly responsive to public concern about crime by putting into place the more robust responses to offending which people want. An alternative perspective