Juvenile Arrest List and Explain the Factors

Juvenile Arrest

List and explain the factors that affect a police officer's decision whether or not to arrest a juvenile.

One of the primary responsibilities of police officers is in the investigation of crime and the arrest of suspects. Taking a person into custody is always a serious matter and that is why officers must make sure that they have the right suspect before taking this drastic step. Even if a person is later found to be not guilty of a crime, the arrest will still impact them psychologically and sociologically, and may even follow them throughout the rest of their lives. Guilt or innocence and the punishment that a person is to receive are determined by the court system. The officer's job is to find the person responsible and to bring them in. From an emotional perspective, the responsibility can be burdensome and so every officer tries to make sure that they make no mistakes. This scenario is even more complicated when the suspect is a juvenile. Arresting a minor for any criminal activity will have a decided impact on the rest of that individual's life

Police officers have the ability and authority to arrest juveniles if and only if the police officers have probable cause that the juvenile committed the crime (Patterson 2011,-page 22). Officers may also arrest a suspect if they violated a court order such as an order of supervision or if they have violated their probation. If the suspect is in a public place such as a school, police do not need an arrest warrant if there is probable cause to suspect the person has committed a crime. Within a private setting, the authorities are required to have a warrant. Such a document is also necessary for a search of private property. Searches of public spaces where there is no assumed right to privacy do not require a permit so long as the police have the permission of the person in charge of that space.

Based upon the suspect's age, their criminal history if any, the seriousness of the offense and the suspect's culpability in the alleged crime, the police will make a decision on whether to arrest or to find some alternative form of consequence (Patterson 2011,-page 24). From this, the youth officer can choose to make a station adjustment which will make certain demands from the suspect which if the suspect violated will then lead to further punishment. If things do not pan out in this vein, then the police will have to reevaluate and make a decision whether or not to push for arrest and further detention.