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Juvenile justice system research paper
American juvenile justice system
Juvenile justice system research paper
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In America, there is a lot of problems with the juvenile system. The juvenile system was put in place to make sure that the kids who committed crimes were tried differently than adults. If you ask the question “Should a sixteen year old be tried as an adult?” what would you say? Most of the public would say that it depends on the crime he or she is alleged to have committed, and what caused them to commit the crime. While some studies show that the brain continues to develop until around the age of twenty-five this is no excuse to coddle minors in their late teens who commit serious crimes, know the law, and are aware of the societal norms. Yes, they committed a capital crime, but it does not mean that they should just get thrown in adult prison, …show more content…
Overall, states spend about $5.7 billion each year imprisoning youth.” Detention centers do not have the best of living conditions and, being in the detention centers also has a significant impact on the juvenile's mental health. Being in a detention center really makes an impact on the way these juveniles live and act through the rest of their lives. Looking at the demographics it actually costs tax payers, the state, and the families of the juveniles more money to put the juveniles in detention centers. When they put the juvenile’s in the center they are not guaranteed the best of living conditions in the …show more content…
The most known factor is their parent’s influence. If the parents are doing drugs and being abusive throughout the juvenile’s life then they will grow up probably thinking that is the way the world is and that it is okay to do. The more often the parents do drugs and are abusive the more likely that the juvenile is going to be abusive and might turn into a drug user because that’s what they knew growing up. Family structure is also a known factor family history could cause delinquency. As families grow there could be a chance that if the delinquent is the eldest they are more likely to feel like an outcast and that could lead to delinquent actions. Peers also create a big influence, especially today. If their friends are doing drugs and drinking alcohol that will play a big factor in why they are acting like they do. Community factors just like peer influence could create a bigger influence on the child, if the majority of the community is alcoholic or a drug dealer there is a high chance that the child will grow up to be one of those two things or even worse. The last factor that could possibly factor into juvenile delinquency is the school polices, if the child gets suspended or expelled often then that could possibly factor into the way the child acts. If the juvenile tends to get suspended often and that is all that happens to them, it could mean they do not think anything else will be done
We imprison seven-hundred-fifty prisoners per one hundred-thousand citizens, almost five times the earth average. Around one in every thirty-one grown-ups in the United States is in the penitentiary, in prison or on supervised release. District, state, and national disbursements on corrections expenses total to around seventy billion dollars per year and has raised to forty percent more over the past twenty years. http://www.newsweek.com/ The current corrections specialists have started to support that notion. Even though we comprehend that criminals must take accountability for their actions, we also realize that we can no longer just turn out heads at their disappointments. The individuals that derive out of our penitentiaries, prisons, municipal programs and out from beneath our direction are our creation, and we have to take some responsibility. Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition) Hankoff, Leon D. "Current trends in correctional education: theory and practice." International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology Apr. 1985: 91-93. Criminal Justice Collection. Web. 12 June 2016.
There is a great deal of controversy over the trying and sentencing of juvenile offenders today. Many will argue that because the severity of Juvenile crimes has risen, the severity of its consequences should rise; however, no matter how serious the crime is, juvenile offenders tried as adults receive far worse than they deserve. The majority of Juveniles tried as adults are hardly given any form of human rights. Adult jails are not the environment children should have to experience, especially those sentenced for misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes. There are other solutions to reducing juvenile crime. It does not take adult court to straighten out kids on the wrong path. Most children are not even able to recognize that what they had done is wrong. There may be no perfect solution to reducing juvenile crime, but there are ways far more effective than adult trying and sentencing.
One in three teen delinquents are sexually assaulted by staff members during their time in juvie. Even in the place that is supposed to oppose crime takes part in it. Juvenile Detention Centers are supposed to help minors get on the right track for the rest of their life ahead of them. In 2003 The Prison Rape Elimination Act [PREA] was passed to help prevent and protect against prison rape. Though that was passed it still goes on and the superiors of the inmates are still getting away with it.
Arya Neelum , Ryan Liz , Sandoval Jessica, Kudma Julie . “Jailing Juveniles: The Dangers of Incarcerating Youth in Adult Jails in America: A Campaign for Youth Justice Report” The Campaign for Youth Justice Nov.2007 ebscohost. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
If children are too young to vote, drink alcohol, drive, and go watch rated R movies, why should they be tried as adults? It has always been an issue if whether an adolescent, under the age of eighteen, convicted of violent crimes should be tried as an adult or not. There are children as young as eleven years old that are being sent to adult prisons (Krikorian 2003). In such cases the jury does not take into consideration the fact that they are too young to stand trial, their brains are not fully developed, and that they are capable of rehabilitating.
Juveniles are more than just kids. They are capable of doing anything an adult is capable of doing. One has probably heard the saying, “If you want to be treated like an adult, then act like an adult.” If they’re going to do crimes that “only” adults are capable of doing, then they should treated like an adult and be tried and sentenced like one. Imagine being close to a murder victim, wouldn’t you want them to feel hell? “How would you feel if you never got to see your child alive again while their killer served only a short sentence before being released from jail?” (hchs1259). This quote hits hard. One can only imagine being in the position of a parent whose child was murdered.
It is undeniable that mass incarceration devastates families, and disproportionately affects those which are poor. When examining the crimes that bring individuals into the prison system, it is clear that there is often a pre-existing pattern of hardship, addiction, or mental illness in offenders’ lives. The children of the incarcerated are then victimized by the removal of those who care for them and a system which plants more obstacles than imaginable on the path to responsible rehabilitation. Sometimes, those returned to the community are “worse off” after a period of confinement than when they entered. For county jails, the problem of cost and recidivism are exacerbated by budgetary constraints and various state mandates. Due to the inability of incarceration to satisfy long-term criminal justice objectives and the very high expenditures associated with the sanction, policy makers at various levels of government have sought to identify appropriate alternatives(Luna-Firebaugh, 2003, p.51-66).
Many people say that the systems first priority should be to protect the public from the juvenile criminals that are a danger to others. Once the juveniles enter the system there is however, arguments on what should be done with them. Especially for those deemed too dangerous to be released back to their parents. Some want them locked away for as long as possible without rehabilitation, thinking that it will halt their criminal actions. One way to do this they argue would be to send them into an adult court. This has been a large way to reform the juvenile system, by lowering the age limits. I believe in certain cases this is the best method for unforgiving juveniles convicted of murder, as in the case of Ronald Duncan, who got away with a much lesser sentence due to his age. However another juvenile, Geri Vance, was old enough to be sent into the adult court, which caused him t...
There are numerous critics of the juvenile justice system, and while most of their denunciations remain the same as those of the justice system at large, an ample portion of their criticisms revolve around the claim that incarcerating young people not only doesn’t work in deterring or rehabilitating them, but makes them worse and leads to adult misconduct. A report noted that youth sent to juvenile prison were 37 times more likely to be arrested as adults (Szalavitz, 2009). Another major problem some cite with the juvenile justice system is that most delinquent offends have some form of mental illness, and that while studies have shown that mental health treatment would be a better alternative, they are simply ignored or incarcerated (Ramirez, 2008), completely contradictory to the core values of the juvenile justice system which stresses rehabilitation and restitution above all else.
once the minor has committed a violent crime, they are no longer a kid. The minor had the ability to know right from wrong, but he still chose to commit the heinous crime anyway. Choosing to commit this violent crime means that the minor chose to act as an adult and must be held accountable. Once the minor has made the decision to act as an adult, they must be treated as an adult. If we do not teach minors that what they did has consequences they will never learn. Arguments can be made that minors should not be treated as adults and while these arguments do have merit, they are not my beliefs. In my opinion, minors who commit violent crimes need to be tried as adults. Justice does not discriminate when it comes to age. Right is right, and wrong is wrong and the wrong should be punished equally.
It is necessary in some cases to send the juvenile to adult court for prosecution. But it is really hard to keep kids safe in an adult jail. Also by not giving youth their own separate facility they are not getting the proper education that they need to survive if they are ever released from prison (Gerdes 118-122). The Prison Rape Elimination Act had to be passed because so many juveniles were being raped wile in an adult prison. Also being isolated for a long period of time has shown to cause mental health problems more in juveniles than in adults (Ryan 3 of 5). Even when the adult offenders and the youth offenders are separated, youth offenders are isolated. This means that they are locked down for 23 hours a day, no human contact, and never seeing the sunlight. This can cause mental health disorders, depression, and an increase in suicide rates (Gerdes 121-122). By trying juveniles in an adult court, research shows that they were rearrested faster and more frequently than those tried in Juvenile court. Nine out of fifty states are allowing the release of juvenile court records without as many restrictions as before (Edgar 15 of 37). “Developmental studies have shown that youths are ill prepared to participate in adult court proceeding and are unable to adequately recognize the long term consequences of their legal decisions” (Ryan 1 of 5). After the age of 17 the Supreme Court says that it is legal to be t...
Juveniles deserve to be tried the same as adults when they commit certain crimes. The justice systems of America are becoming completely unjust and easy to break through. Juvenile courts haven’t always been known to the everyday person.
One reason why juvenile offenders should not be tried as adult is because they are far from adulthood. Many teenager who have committed a crime has a different background. For example, they have suffered sex abused, their parents have been drug addicted , or have been in prison for many years. There are many factors
... even willing to die for money, so in order to truly address this juvenile delinquency problem we cannot just address the surface level social issues,but must also, and perhaps more importantly, focus on the economic foundation that motivates juveniles to continue a path of crime. Economic problems are the only factors that contribute to social issues, but the resources being wasted on these corrections facilities and other ineffective socially addressing programs should be better spent on improving the economic situation of communities. About one-quarter of juveniles who offended at ages 16-17 also offended as adults at ages 18-19, therefore the growing urgency and importance to address juvenile justice is undeniable, because by addressing juvenile delinquency you are addressing crime in general (“Child Maltreatment & Juvenile Delinquency: Facts and Figures").
Many believe that locking away juveniles is the best way to keep society safe but they are wrong. Locking juveniles away does more harm than any good. Expert say that there’s “a decline in juvenile crime, concerns about the cost of adult prisons, and growing understanding that adolescents have a greater potential for rehabilitation than adults do.” There’s no need to spend so much money on juveniles in prisons when