The City of Poughkeepsie Police Juvenile Aid Bureau (JAB) primary objective unit is to identify and address trends of juvenile criminality, working closely with the City of Poughkeepsie County Attorney’s Office, Probation and Child Protective Services in order to assist area youths (under 16years of age) who are demonstrating anti-social behavior, runaways, habitually disobedient or are beyond the lawful control of their parents. In addition to these services, JAB also investigates complaints of crimes against children such as abuse and neglect. In terms of police involvement with juveniles, an officer may take a child under the age of 16 into custody without a warrant (FCA 305.2) in cases where he/she may arrested for a crime under 145 …show more content…
Initial report of incidence shall be taken by police officers immediately; juveniles taken into custody may be searched, for those charged with a crime can be handcuffed during transportation. Note those individuals who are status offenders for such offenses such as runaways or truancy should only be handcuffed if they are combative or a flight risk, desecration should be used …show more content…
Many studies have concluded that adults suffer severely from treatment in the criminal justice system, aside from imprisonment (citation). Foremost, the difference between a juvenile delinquent, a juvenile offender and a youthful offender in the state of NY treats individuals different depending upon the charge. A juvenile delinquent is a person at least seven and less than 16 years of age who commits an act which would be a crime if he or she were an adult, and is also found to be in need of supervision, treatment or confinement. This individual’s court case would be held in family court with an initial appearance and taken into custody being designated to a juvenile facility. Custody options include: remand to a NYS certified secure or non-secure Juvenile Detention facility, release with or without appearance ticket for Family Court Intake. Legal representation is limited to a law guardian, legal aid- Juvenile Rights Division or a private attorney. Case decisions are a fact finding hearing only; it is a formal trial in the presence of a judge witnesses may testify to determine if allegations are true. Judicial options include dispositional hearing probation, placement with NY Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) for up to 18 months, adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD),
One of the fasting growing juvenile treatment and interventions programs are known as teen courts. Teen courts serve as an alternative juvenile justice, to young offenders. Non-violent, and mostly first time offenders are sentenced by their peers’ in teen courts. Teen courts also serve as juvenile justice diversion programs. Teen courts vary from state to state, and sometimes within the same state. With this program, all parties of the judicial setting are juveniles with the exception of the judge. Each teen court, is designed specifically to meet the needs of the community it serves. Teen courts were created to re-educate offenders throughout the judicial process, create a program with sanctions that will allow the youth not to have a juvenile record, and to also instil a sense of responsibility.
Jenson, Jeffrey and Howard, Matthew. "Youth Crime, Public Policy, and Practice in the Juvenile Justice System: Recent Trends and Needed Reforms." Social Work 43 (1998): 324-32
The process of transferring juveniles to adult courts has shown no effects on decreasing recidivism or a deterrent outcome. Waiver as it is known has three means by which a juvenile can be transferred to an adult court. Judicial waiver offenses, statutory exclusions, and concurrent jurisdiction are the three methods in which a waiver can occur. This research will describe each one of these methods with detail. It will also provide statistical facts showing why waiver can be a very debatable topic within the juvenile criminal justice system. In its totality it will discuss the arguments for and against waiver.
The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.
Police officers have a great amount of discretion. Since they are not always supervised and on patrol they choose which cases should be process and which one should just be not. Police discretion is the most important part because it determines the outcomes of the interaction between the police and the juvenile. Krisberg and Austin noted that police have five basic options in deciding what course of action to pursue with juveniles. The first one would be release, accompanied by a warning to the juvenile. The second one would be release, accompanied by an official report. The third one would be Station adjustment. Which include release to parent accompanied by an official reprimand, referral to a community youth agency, or referral to a public or private social welfare or mental health agency. Fourth would be Referral to juvenile court without detention and last referral to the juvenile court with detention.
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution states, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." No where in this law does it create special divisions or classifications between adults and minors in society, so one should naturally assume that persons under 18 should be afforded the same protections as anyone over 18. The moment when minors are most at the mercy of government officials is while in school, and this is when these Constitutional Fourth Amendment protections are needed.
Crime rates across the U.S. for juveniles is at all time high. Juveniles across all demographic have been punished more severely than those of the past. Contributing factors including lower socioeconomic areas such as the Detroit Metropolitan Areas & Chicago. This paper will discuss the apparent issue within the system focusing on juveniles in urban areas.
In the last 42 years little to no changes have been made to correct the standards that govern punitive measures towards juvenile delinquency. Today juvenile law is governed by state and many states have enacted a juvenile code. However, in numerous cases, juveniles are transferred to adult court when juvenile courts waive or relinquish jurisdiction. Adolescents should not be tried in the adult court system or sentenced to adult penitentiary's on account of: teen brains are not mature which causes a lack of understanding towards the system, incarceration in an adult facility increases juvenile crime, and children that are sentenced to adult prison are vulnerable to abuse and rape.
What is important to understand in terms at the difference between the juvenile and adult system is that there is a level of dependency that is created tween the two and the juvenile system focuses on how to help rather than in prison individuals at such a young age. However, it usually depends on the type of crimes that have been committed and what those crimes me for the families and how they impact of the greater society. The adult system distinguishes between dependence and delinquency mainly because there was a psychological transition that occurs with juveniles that is not always a predictor of a cyclical life of crime. However, if an adult is committed to the justice system there can be a dependency of delinquency and a cycle of crime that is more likely to be sustained at that age and level of cognitive ability then in comparison to a juvenile. The reasoning behind this is important is that is focused on maintaining a level of attention to the needs and capacity abilities of individuals living and working in different types of societies (Zinn et al.,
The Criminal Law state at the age of 7, any young child that are engaged in a criminal behavior can be prosecuted in the Family Court of Law. Additionally, juveniles can also be arrested for curfews violations, refusal to obey parents, running away, skipping school, and underage alcohol consumption. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that roughly half of all youth arrested are charged with theft, simple assaults, drug abuse, disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. OJJDP statistics confirms that theft is the greatest cause of youth arrests. (Martin, 2011) When they are prosecute and after the judge made there verdict, they become Juvenile Delinquent. A Juvenile Delinquent is a youth between the age of 7 and 18 who commits the act of a crime. The law also follows a specific term placement, which is:
Juvenile delinquency is the participation of illegal behavior by minors. Usually crimes committed by a child under the age of 18. The young people who usually live in difficult circumstances are the ones who are at risk of becoming “delinquents.” Juvenile delinquency is becoming more complicated and universal. This is a local problem happening in our cities today. It is easy for people to view “juvenile delinquents” as thugs or criminals. The reality is many of these so called “delinquents” has either been abused, lack proper supervision and support, or have been untreated fairly in schools.
The focus of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate juvenile offenders, rather than to imprison and punish like the systems adult counterpart. According to Caldwell (1961) the juvenile justice system is based on the principle that youth are developmentally and fundamentally different from adults. This has lead to the development of a separate justice system for juveniles that was initially designed to assist troubled juveniles providing them with protection, treatment, and guidance. When performing as it is designed and up to the initial intentions, the juvenile court balances rehabilitation (treatment) of the offender with suitable sanctions when necessary such as incarceration. According to Mack (1909) the focus of the juvenile justice system has shifted from “how can we help the child”, “why did the child commit the crime” to “was the crime committed”. According to Griffin (2008) in some cases juveniles may be required to be “transferred” to adult court. The prerequisites for transfer to adult court are the duty to protect the public from violent youths, serious crime, and the lack of rehabilitation chance from the juvenile court. According to Flesch (2004) many jurisdictions handle the issue of serious juvenile crime by charging juveniles as adults. Charging a juvenile as an adult is done by a method which is called waiver to adult court. This waiver allows adult criminal court to have the power to exercise jurisdiction over juveniles and handle the juvenile’s case as an adult’s case would be tried. According to Flesch (2004) a juvenile is both tried and if convicted of the crime the juvenile will be sentenced as an adult when his or her case is waived from the juvenile court. Waiver to adult court initially was viewe...
for youngsters who have a long history of convictions for less serious felonies for which the juvenile court disposition has not been effective” (qtd. in Katel).
June/July 21-26. Eldelfonso, Edward. A. Law Enforcement and the Youth offenders: Juvenile Procedures. New York: Wiley, 1967. Hyde, Margaret O. & Co.
I can give a formal warning and/or arrest the juvenile and take them to the police station and release them to their parents