Juvenile Justice: Balanced And Restorative Justice

When it comes to “Balanced and Restorative Justice” (BARJ) the core principles are “ensuring community safety, insisting on offender accountability to victims and equipping offenders in the system with skills so they are able to pursue noncriminal paths after release” (pg. 287). With these principals the juvenile justice system can operate in a way that is in the best interest for juveniles and the community they are in. Although there are three main components of restorative justice, a fourth one can also be included because of the role it plays. The components are: the offender, the victim, and the community and juvenile justice professionals. The offender first has to be accountable for his/her actions, actively participates in rehabilitation

“as a resource in service roles that improve quality of life in the community” (pg.288) and becomes “involved in constrictive competency building and restorative activities in a balanced program while under adult supervision” (pg. 288).

The victim usually participates in all of the stages of the restorative process if he/she is able to in order to help “determine sanctions for juvenile offender” (pg. 288), he/she may also participate in “victim panels or victim-awareness training for staff and juvenile offenders” (pg. 288) and can continue to provide input on “safety concerns, fear and needed controls” (pg. 288) regarding the offenders. Community members can participate as volunteer mediators/facilitators and community panel members who help develop new opportunities for the youth and they also can address the “underlying community problems that contribute to delinquency” (pg. 288). Juvenile justice professionals facilitate mediation, ensure that restoration occurs, develop creative/ restorative community service options and engage the community members in the process by educating the community on its role. The juvenile justice professionals develop “new roles for young offenders that allow them to practice and demonstrate competency” (pg. 288) and also develop a range of “incentives and consequences to ensure juvenile offender compliance with supervision objectives” (pg.

288).
From my understanding this is how the process works in just about all cities/counties when it comes to juveniles offenders.

Once an incident has occurred it is first handled by law enforcement agents, a citation may given, an arrest may be made or “the police may simply warn the child and parents” (“Juvenile Probation Department”). If an arrest is made the juvenile is taken into what they call intake. If the case is to be filed in court, intake makes a decision on whether or not the juvenile will stay in custody or be released for the time being. For those that have pending charges, a juvenile probation officer is then assigned to over look the case and come up with an “detailed assessment of the child’s behavior, home, school and social relationships”(“ Juvenile Probation Department”). The probation officer’s social history report helps “assist the judge in deciding on a plan for the child’s future” (“Juvenile Probation Department”). That plan includes a type of punishment such as: probation, detention, or placement. In the end however, the judge has the final say so on what should happened to the

juvenile.
Different Types of Court
When it comes to juvenile offenders, there are many challenges that they often face that are “better addressed outside the formal court” (pg. 279). This is why “many jurisdictions have developed specialized courts to handle cases with mitigating circumstances that lend themselves to an option shy of full, formal court processing” (pg. 279). The specialized courts include: teen courts, drug courts, mental health court, traffic court, and gun court. Teen court “is a “hands on” educational opportunity that allows both offenders and teen volunteers to experience, thus better understand” (“Midland Teen Court”) the justice system. It is not really a court; it is more of an intervention type program that teens have to participate in. If they “fail to abide by sanctions imposed by teen courts” (pg. 279), they could face the formal charges in juvenile court. Drug court “offers delinquents who meet certain eligibility criteria the option of participating in the drug court rather than in a traditional case processing” (pg. 284). Mental health court is for juveniles who suffer from mental disorders such as “serious mental illness, including brain disorders (schizophrenia, severe anxiety, bipolar disorder and severe ADHD) or serve head injury that has contributed to their offending” (pg. 286). Traffic court deals with traffic offenses minors have been charged with. If a minor is found guilty of a traffic violation by a judge or officer, “the minor can be ordered to pay a fine, have driving privileges suspended or restricted, be required to do a certain number of hours of community services or be place on probation” (pg. 287). Gun court is short-term, but includes an early intervention program “with an intensive education focus including a wide range of court personnel and law enforcement officials” working with members of a community (pg. 286). The major goal is to effectively get the message across to juveniles that “gun violence hurts victims, families, and entire communities” (pg. 286). Two other messages that can be given to juveniles are how gun violence can have a negative impact on their live and how there are adults who will take all measures to help them deal with problems in an nonviolent way.
My Opinion on Juvenile Delinquency
My opinion continues to stay the same every time it comes to this question. I strongly believe juvenile justice departments should hold ALL juvenile offenders accountable for ALL of their actions whether they are minor or major acts. If the juvenile justice system is too lenient when it comes to punishments then juveniles will not fear such consequences and therefore, they will continue with such behavior and will not be deterred from it. Yes, I understand juveniles’ minds are not fully developed which is reasoning for their thought process not always being the best, but that should not always be the reason for them becoming involved in delinquent behavior. I think the community could play a major role by educating juveniles on what is right from wrong and what the consequences will be if they participate in such delinquent behavior.