Juvenile Justice System
Juvenile Justice System
The emergence of the juvenile court system dates back to the 19th century. The society began to view the juvenile delinquent as an individual who could be molded to suit the societal expectations. A juvenile delinquent was still developing, socially, psychologically and cognitively. The juvenile courts were thus the best channels where the juvenile rehabilitate. Focuses shifted from punishments and treatment of the delinquent as an adult to the determination of alternative measures to rehabilitate the delinquent. The paper reviews the history of the juvenile justice systems with emphasis on the milestones of these courts. The paper will look at the waiver process and whether it results to negative or positive consequences. Waiver process decrees that the delinquent is tried in a criminal court. Factors such as age and severity of the crime will be reviewed. Overall, the juvenile justice system must be upheld within the society. It is vital that delinquents are given a second chance to rehabilitate without the risk of societal stigmatization.
History of Juvenile Systems
The juvenile system has grown from the 19th century to date. The juvenile system is a legal framework that looks into corrective juvenile delinquents. The juvenile system looks to help the delinquent rehabilitate and become a better person in the society. Prior to the introduction of the juvenile system, children who broke the law in any way were tried and punished the same way as adults. Prisons and jail houses housed adults and children without discrimination. It is only in the 19th century that reformers began to look at the overall impact of jails to juvenile delinquents that the desire to change the court system arose. Reformers found that youths that were thrown into jail and punished like adults did not reform but instead became worse than before. Most of the juvenile delinquents are adolescents, and like any adolescent, they tend to rebel when faced with a harsh environment. The prisons were unfriendly and harsh and instead of reforming the juvenile delinquent, they introduced him to more hard core adult criminals (Carmen, & Trulson, 2005).
The need for a juvenile court system was fueled by the fact that juvenile delinquents were not fully developed. It was expected that, with the right rehabilitation strategies, the delinquents would reform. The first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Illinois with subsequent states later adopting the trend. These juvenile courts were established to take the role of rehabilitation and supervision for the delinquents. In reality, the juvenile court systems would operate on the basis that the courts would look into how best to help the delinquent. Focus was thus on rehabilitation rather than punishments. The court would take up the role of the parent that desires to pay attention to the best outcome of the child.
Reliability of the Juvenile Court Systems
The juvenile court system is quite effective. It is vital that the society gives children and youths a second chance. In most instances, the juvenile delinquents are unaware of the repercussion of an illegal action they engage in. It is only after rehabilitation under the juvenile court system that the delinquent is made aware of his faults. The delinquent is thus given an opportunity to change and become a better person in the society. Separating the juvenile delinquent from the adult offender also guarantees that the risk of negative influence is minimized. Critics arguing against the juvenile systems state that it is not longer effective (Steinberg, & Scott, 2008). This is based on the fact that rehabilitation efforts are sometimes fruitless as the delinquent persist with his criminal activities.There are various highlights in the development of the juvenile justice system. The first is the convention on the rights of the child of 1989. The convention on the rights of the child strives to define who qualifies to be categorized as a child. Under the convection, a child is any individual under 18years.
In a court system, an individual categorized as a child must be tried under the juvenile court system. Focus on the juvenile court system will be to determine what’s best for the child. The convention stipulates that children must be protected from abuse and or exploitation. They must also be protected from corporal or any other form of degrading punishment. In the juvenile justice system, the child was protected from harm as emphasis was on rehabilitation rather than punishments. The courts could no longer try the delinquent as an adult. The second milestone involves effectively rehabilitating the juvenile delinquents to the extent that they drop their delinquent behavior and adopt legally and socially acceptable conduct. Unlike the adult courts, the establishments of the juvenile court systems meant that the focus was on rehabilitation rather than punishments. The focus on rehabilitation is based on the assumption that the children can still alter their behavior (Ryder, & Elrod, 2011).
Focus on the juvenile delinquents court, therefore, is to look into intervention methods to assist the delinquent adopt an acceptable behavior. The third milestone involves treating the hearing of a juvenile court as a civil rather than a juvenile proceeding. The civil proceeding in a juvenile court looks into determining the best interest of the child. The hearing is thus less formal than the adult judicial system; however, the rights of the juvenile offender still stand. Regardless of the presence of the juvenile courts, many youths are transferred to adult criminal courts. This occurs mainly when the delinquents has committed a serious offence. Juvenile crimes such as robbery with violence, homicide and sexual assault are not taken lightly, and the delinquent is tried in an adult criminal court. Transferring a juvenile case to an adult court is known as a waiver. A court undertakes a waiver process to prevent a juvenile offender from enjoying the freedom and rights that he would have at a juvenile court.
Some of the factors considered in the waiver process include the age of the delinquent. Some state waive offender who are young as 14 while others have a higher range of 18. The second circumstance that can result to a waiver is the severity of the crime (Steinberg, & Scott, 2008). Most states, for instance, exclude offenses such as first degree murder from the juvenile court system. This means that the juvenile delinquent is treated as an adult and focus is on punishment rather than rehabilitation.A waiver process appears justifiable to the victims. A family that suffered due to murder will feel that justice has been served when they see the suspect tried and sentenced. Unfortunately, the effect of a waiver process can negatively impact on the well being of the child. For instance, there is a risk of social stigmatization. In an adult court, records regarding the court proceeding are made public. This impedes on the child’s efforts to reform.
Once he has served his sentence, the society will still hold against him that he was in jail after committing a crime (Ryder, & Elrod, 2011).A waiver process also puts the juvenile delinquent at risk of adoption of more negative habit. The juvenile delinquent is tried as an adult and hence he risks incarceration. In prison, the juvenile delinquent is exposed to all characters. Some may, unfortunately, have a negative impact on the delinquent introducing him to a deeper world of crimes (Carmen, & Trulson, 2005). Once the delinquent completes his sentence, the only friends he knows and recognizes within the society are fellow prison mates. Some of the formers prisoners may still be in crime hence influence the delinquent to persist with his criminal activities.
Conclusion
Juvenile court system should continue to be run distinct from the adult court systems. An adult is fully aware of the actions he is engaged in. He is also aware of the legal consequence of his actions. A juvenile may also be unaware of the consequences of his actions. The juvenile may also commit offense due to peer pressure. The presence of a juvenile court system gives the juvenile an opportunity to reform and integrate back to the society. In the past, the court tried and sentenced children as adults. Juvenile school established for juvenile delinquents focused on education but exercised cruelty and punishments. The formation of the juvenile court system was thus a reprieve as it was a foundation from where youths got a second chance at rehabilitation.
Reference
Carmen, R. & Trulson, C. (2005). Juvenile justice: system, the process and the law. Cengage learning
Ryder, S. & Elrod, P. (2011). Juvenile justice: a social, historical and legal perspective. Jones & Bartlett learning
Steinberg, L. & Scott, E. (2008). Adolescent development and the regulation of youth crime. Journal issue of juvenile justice. Vol. 18(2)
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
