The article reports that it is unclear whether or not trying juveniles in Criminal Court as opposed to juvenile court deters crime. In fact the author points out the results of six large studies which found that the recidivism rates of those tried in Criminal Court was greater than the rate of those tried in juvenile court. Other studies have shown mixed outcomes. Some research has shown that harsher sentences do not deter juveniles from committing crime, while others have shown that transfer laws have contributed to a decrease in crime amongst juveniles. However the largest and the most prominent research about this type of deterrence effort suggest that harsher penalties actually cause a greater amount of recidivism amongst juveniles. So then, the aim of transfer laws has not been realized because they were ill conceived.
In the first essay the philosophy of the authors is that the state has a responsibility to reduce the number of juveniles that are incarcerated. This reduction is needed because there are a disproportionate number of minority juveniles in the system. The incarceration of juveniles is detrimental because of the cycle of incarceration that tends to occur once young people enter the system. The authors want to stop the cycle of incarceration so that stronger communities can be built and society can improve.
The philosophy or intent of the second essay was to examine the both the assumed and actual impact of transfer laws. In this case state law makers believed that they had a...
The states assumed that by creating harsher penalties serious crimes committed by juveniles would decrease. However the reality of transfer laws seems to be that they do not deter juveniles from committing serious crimes. Instead transfer law actually increases the possibility that a juvenile offender will commit another crime. In this way transfer laws fail to make the community and society safer and in fact these laws appear to make society more dangerous.
Conclusion
The purpose of this discussion was to focus on philosophies of Parens Patriae as it pertains to Juvenile delinquents. The research articles reflect a common desire to deter crime. However, one deterrent to crime is thought to be related to more community involvement and alternatives to incarceration, while the other deterrent is harsher penalties for offenders. The research suggests that the latter is not successful in deterring juveniles from committing crimes.
References
Parens Patriae. Retrieved September 30 from; http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Parens+Patriae
Redding, R.E. (2008) Juvenile Transfer Laws: An Effective Deterrent to Delinquency? Retrieved September 30 from; http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/220595.pdf
Soler M., Garry L.M. (2009) Reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact: Preparation at the Local Level. Retrieved September 30 from; http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/218861.pdf
