Juveniles Be Tried as Adults:

¶ … Juveniles be Tried as Adults: Though the age limit may be a little lower or higher in some parts, juveniles are generally considered to be children within 18 years who have committed a criminal act. Consequently, the punishments of juvenile delinquency are usually less harsh as compared to those of adults who have committed a similar crime.

Throughout history, there has been ongoing debate on whether the juvenile justice system is a point through which children get reasons to commit criminal acts because they will have punishments that are less harsh than their adult counterparts. However, juveniles should never be tried as adults because of the different competencies and potential for change that they possess as compared to adults.

The transfer of juveniles to the adult criminal courts has served as a point of increasing crime since juveniles who are tried as adults commit more crimes upon their release. Additionally, juveniles should not be tried as adults because the juvenile justice system is established with the purpose of treating rather than punishment. Background Information: The juvenile justice system and court was commenced over one hundred years ago with the general assumption that juvenile criminals shouldn't be tried in the adult criminal courts.

This system was instituted to handle these juvenile criminals depending on their youth or age instead of the crimes they have committed. However, there was a public outcry between 1980s and 1990s for the system to become tough on juvenile criminals and try them as adults. This public outcry resulted in the enactment of laws by many states to try certain juvenile criminals as adults with some states considering the drastic suggestion of eliminating the juvenile courts ("Should Juveniles be Tried as Adults?" par, 1).

The existence of this separate justice system is on the basis that there are major psychological differences between children and adults. These major psychological differences are usually aggravated by the normal development processes that are age-related and legally applicable. Causes of Juvenile Crimes: The debate on whether juvenile offenders should go through the same trial as their adult counterparts has increased because of the recent increase in the rate of juvenile delinquency.

However, the original cause of many of the recent crimes is attributed to the early learning experiences within the family. These experiences include futile supervision, weak bonding within the family, abuse and neglect of children as well as severe and inconsistent discipline. Exposure to violence or criminal activities within the community is also a cause of juvenile delinquency especially in place where there are gangs and unlawful drug markets. Other causes of juvenile crimes include participation in a criminal peer group, school, poverty and drug abuse.

Furthermore, juvenile delinquency has partly been because of the fact that people didn't expect children to commit criminal acts or become criminals. Effects of the Problem: Juvenile justice system has been established in order to help in resolving the unexpected connection between criminality and children given that children have different competencies and potential for change than adults. The establishment of the juvenile justice system has preserved an authoritative boundary between juveniles and adult criminal courts (Steinberg p, 1).

This jurisdictional boundary has only been desecrated in severe cases of danger and defiance leading to arguments that some juvenile offenders should be exempted from the juvenile justice system because of the harshness of their offense, danger to other juveniles and history of recurring crimes. A dramatic shift has been experienced recently in the approach to juvenile crime by the general public and the policy makers as well. In most cases, the community is increasingly choosing to redefine juvenile offenders as adults instead of defining their offenses as delinquent.

As a result of these recent attempts by the society to redefine juvenile criminals rather than their offenses, juveniles are being transferred and tried in the adult criminal justice system and courts. However, juveniles should not be tried as adults because of several reasons including & #8230; Different Mental Abilities: The normal psychological development and mental abilities processes are usually age-related and legally acceptable with adults having developed competencies or mental abilities than children.

Consequently, these differences in mental abilities necessitate the fact that children or juvenile offenders should be tried separately from their adult counterparts because of their mental abilities. Those in opposition to the juvenile justice system and proponents of the eradication of the juvenile courts argue that a crime is a crime regardless of who commits it and that there should be a single justice system to try both juveniles and adults.

However, this argument is not only chaotic but also faulty since it has been proven that children between the age of nine and ten years have a very different mental ability to that of adults. It is therefore impossible for children within this age to plan and carry out a crime and even understand its consequences (Borkar par, 4).

Consequences of Transfers: An examination of the recent cases of transfer of juvenile offenders to the adult criminal justice system is a clear indicator of the necessity of trying juveniles differently and separately from adults. In most cases, juvenile offenders do not develop into adult criminals unless they are tried and punished as adults. Those in opposition to the juvenile justice system argue that punishing juvenile offenders in the adult criminal justice system is geared towards deterring these offenders and the next generation from criminal activities.

However, the argument is false since recent research has proven that juveniles who are tried as adults commit more crimes upon their release. These offenders carry an enduring and potentially devastating stigma that makes them to commit more crime (Maroney par, 6). Therefore juveniles should not be tried as adults because it has been proven that increased transfers have never lessened juvenile crime.

Purpose of Juvenile Justice System: Given that young offenders have a higher potential for change, juvenile justice system has been established in order to provide guidance and treatment rather than punish. When these offenders are given the necessary guidance and treatment, the rate of juvenile crime reduces as compared to when they are tried in the adult criminal justice system. On the contrary, some people argue that this system is established on false grounds because its purpose is to protect juveniles from the consequences of.