Juvenile justice system overview and policy considerations

¶ … juvenile justice system in America. The writer discusses the start of the system and the major changes that have taken place in the system over the past 100 years. There were four sources used to complete this paper.

Following events such as Columbine the American public began to demand a re-evaluation of the juvenile justice system in this nation. What many people do not know is that the American juvenile justice system has undergone many changes over the past 100 years. Those changes have come on the heels of events such as the Columbine shooting, teen rapes, and other violent crimes. They have also been implemented as a proactive step to try and prevent future problems. The past 100 years of the juvenile justice system have seen several major changes in its operation and policy (History of America's Juvenile Justice System (http://www.juvenilejusticefyi.com/history_of_juvenile_justice.html)

History

The problem of juvenile offenders is not new to this society. It is something that authorities and the American public have been dealing with since the turn of the century. There is a long history of trying to walk the line between dealing with juveniles, being ever mindful of their young age, while remembering juveniles can and do commit crimes (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquent System (http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/).

Before 1899 juveniles who committed crimes or were accused of committing crimes were processed through the same system that adults were in. They were sentenced with the same guidelines that adults were sentenced with. By the turn of the century people and authorities began to question the treatment of juveniles when it came to crimes and accusations of crimes. In 1899 the first American juvenile courthouse was opened. It took less than 50 years for the rest of the nation to follow suit and by 1945 every state in America had their own juvenile justice system that included juvenile courts.

Like the adult system, throughout most of the 20th century, the juvenile justice system was based upon a medical/rehabilitative model. The original goals of the juvenile court were to investigate, diagnose, and prescribe treatment for offenders, not to adjudicate guilt or fix blame. The court operated under the doctrine of parens patriae that meant that the state would step in and act as a parent on behalf of a misbehaving juvenile. Proceedings were informal and a juvenile court judge had an enormous amount of discretion in the disposition of juvenile cases, much like the discretion afforded judges in adult criminal settings until the 1970s (Innovative Practices in the Criminal And Juvenile Justice Systems Report:

Sentencing - Corrections - Diversion November 1998 (http://www.kci.org/publication/innovative_practices/juvenile_system.htm)."

Some of the major changes that took place during the birth and growth of the juvenile justice system around the nation was the way it handled its cases. The system did not punish as much as it worked at guiding the juveniles to make better choices when they reached adult life. One of the things that was used on a regular basis in the early years involved reformatories. Often called reform schools or reform farms they were set up to house juveniles who had found their way into the system.

The founding theory of reform housing was to keep the juvenile away from bad influences.

Contrary to the underlying theory, throughout the first part of the century, the institutions that housed juveniles were often dangerous and unhealthy places where the state warehoused delinquent, neglected, and abandoned children for indefinite periods. Common problems included lack of medical care, rehabilitation programs, and even food. Some poor conditions persist even today (Innovative Practices in the Criminal And Juvenile Justice Systems Report: Sentencing - Corrections - Diversion November 1998 (http://www.kci.org/publication/innovative_practices/juvenile_system.htm)."

Another major change in the juvenile justice system in the early years was the implementation of a probation program. By the year 1927 almost every state in the nation had a juvenile probation program that provided a middle ground between complete freedom and incarceration.

The system was heavily scrutinized during the 1940's and 1950's when the public demanded that the juvenile institutions be examined as the conditions were reported to be substandard to the public's desire. The outcome of those investigations was the emergence of alternatives, which included camps in the forest and camps called probationary camps. These camps were designed to teach the juvenile offender about the value of team work, hard efforts and trust (Innovative Practices in the Criminal And Juvenile Justice Systems Report: Sentencing - Corrections - Diversion November 1998 (http://www.kci.org/publication/innovative_practices/juvenile_system.htm).

These camps provided a structured setting for male juvenile offenders, while emphasizing education and vocational skills. However, the effectiveness of these options as alternatives to incarceration was questionable because they were not available to the worst offenders. Nevertheless, these changes marked the beginning of formalized, community-based programming that would become more widespread in subsequent decades (Innovative Practices in the Criminal And Juvenile Justice Systems Report:

Sentencing - Corrections - Diversion November 1998 (http://www.kci.org/publication/innovative_practices/juvenile_system.htm)."

The trend in popular use of such camps hit its peak during the 1970's. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act was adopted in 1974. This act provided federal funding for alternative settings such as foster care and group homes. Electronics monitoring of juvenile offenders was also introduced during the 1970's.