...Juvenile Justice System History of the juvenile justice system The first juvenile court was established in Chicago in 1899. Leading up to this point children over the age of seven were tried in the regular criminal court which lead to many problems in the rehabilitation of juveniles. According to United States Courts (n.d.), “Gerald (“Jerry”) Gault was a 15 year-old accused of making an obscene telephone call to a neighbor, Mrs. Cook, on June 8, 1964. After Mrs. Cook filed a complaint, Gault and a friend, Ronald Lewis, were arrested and taken to the Children’s Detention Home” (para. 1). The Court closely examined the juvenile court system, ultimately determining that, while there are legitimate reasons for treating juveniles and adults differently, juveniles facing an adjudication of delinquency and incarceration are entitled to certain procedural safeguards under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, both stress the importance of separation between noncriminal (status) offenders and those who are accused with criminal offences in terms of legal treatment. In addition, the Acts call for deinstitutionalization of those “light” offenders and demand that convicted juvenile will be removed from adult jails and prisons. Treating young offenders as adults has proved counterproductive and raised questions about the fundamental...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
...The False Promises of the Juvenile Justice System One of the most controversial topics in America concerns the justice system and its policies. Under this category is the juvenile justice system which deals with delinquent children and rare cases of serious juvenile offenders. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the justice system promises to make juvenile contact with the system “rare, fair, and beneficial.” It also states that its goal is to use “effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs.” The statement ends with a pledge to assist juveniles by providing the “necessary treatment and rehabilitative services.” Many people have their own sentiments regarding how the justice system...
Words: 1021 - Pages: 5
...the Juvenile Justice System is to explore the effectiveness of new or alternative juvenile justice programs that are implemented in the United States in order to reduce recidivism for youth offenders. Recidivism is a concept in Criminal Justice. It refers to a person's relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime. Recidivism is measured by criminal acts that resulted in rearrest, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner's release. While incarcerated, these individuals should be provided the necessary tools and skills to help them remain out of...
Words: 975 - Pages: 4
...evolution of the juvenile justice system. More specifically, how the system changed, structurally and procedurally. The paper will cover if these changes resulted in a better more efficient juvenile justice system. These changes will be explained by showing how they did or didn’t help the juvenile justice system. The last thing being discussed is whether or not the juvenile justice system still acts in the best interest of the juvenile. The paper will also discuss how the system is or isn’t acting in the best interest of the juveniles. To be able to talk about the evolution of the juvenile justice system, one must start at the beginning. The first juvenile court was created in 1899, in Cook County, Illinois (Bates...
Words: 1781 - Pages: 8
...non-criminal behavior simply because there was no other solution. “The adult criminal code applied to children, and no juvenile court existed” (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). Because of this Houses of Refuge were created. Houses of refuge were the early introduction to juvenile justice. A house of refuge was ‘the first institution designed to house poor, destitute and vagrant youth who were deemed by authorities to be on the path towards delinquency” (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2013). They were created and designed by the child savers to target youth who showed signs of delinquent behavior. Houses of refuge were located in impoverished or urban areas. They eventually became overpopulated because it, like adult prisons, was housing delinquent juveniles with not form of rehabilitation. A new plan of action had to take place to correct this system. The top goal of the juvenile justice system is to prevent crime and by juveniles and rehabilitate those that were accused of offenses. The juvenile justice system began finding alternative ways to deal with deviant youth. In 1874 The Society for the prevention of cruelty to children or SPCC was created in New York. This organization was created to protect youth exposed to neglect or abuse at home and at school. Parens Patriae was introduced and it allowed to the state to take over custody and rights over a juvenile that was subjected to any form of neglect, or abuse at home. Youth today are not really treated fairly. It seems that...
Words: 999 - Pages: 4
...Do you think young people should be treated as adult criminals when they commit a crime? There are debates whether the juvenile justice system should treat young people as adults or should our legal system attempt to rehabilitate juvenile offenders. The juvenile justice system should treat young people as adult criminals. Some young people think like adult criminals. For example, in the Serial Podcast Sarah Koenig says “…Jay can retrieve the shovels and wipe the handles clean in case of fingerprints.” This example shows that young people are capable of covering up a crime they commit. This is important because young people can be just as guilty as adult criminals who similar crimes. In sum, young people who cover up the criminal acts they did...
Words: 255 - Pages: 2
...More than 67 million Americans from the age of 18 or younger are commonly referred to as juveniles. An juvenile areclassified as an young people who have committed minor and major crimes. Between 1995 and 2015, the number of black juveniles is expected to increase 19%, American Indian juveniles 17%, and Asian/Pacific Islander juveniles 74%, and while white juveniles will increase 3%. As the population increases the juvenile justice system will mostly likewise change. The Law enforcement states that approximately two-thirds of all arrested youth are sent to a court with juvenile jurisdiction for further booking. Many juvenile offenses go unreported and do not become a part of notice crimes. Many minor offenses committed by juveniles are...
Words: 422 - Pages: 2
...The Juvenile Criminal Justice System The statistics of juvenile crime are staggering: each year the juvenile justice system processes more than 2.5 million juvenile arrests each year and decides the fate of nearly 5,000 delinquent juveniles every day. This paper will cover the philosophies that shape the juvenile system and how it differs from the adult justice system. It will also touch upon the sanctions involved, the legal factors that are associated with sentencing and how the appeals process works (Chung, Little, Steinberg, & Altschuler, Feb.2005) Historically, juvenile criminals were treated the same as adult criminals. It wasn’t until about a century ago that the philosophy behind the way that juveniles that violate criminal laws were treated differently from adult offenders. Punishment was the central criminal law philosophy in English common law. Most people presumed that children under the age of seven were not capable of forming criminal intent, thus eliminating them from the criminal justice system completely. Children between the ages of seven and 14 were also presumed incompetent to form the requisite criminal intent unless the prosecutor could demonstrate that the child knew the difference between right and wrong. Children over age 14 were presumed to have the capacity to form criminal intent (Patton, 2011). During this time there were no special courts to deal with adolescent offenders. Because of this they were arrested, held in custody, tried, and...
Words: 1210 - Pages: 5
...Juvenile Justice System Essay Juvenile justice is something that our country has been dealing with for a very long time, since the first juvenile court in 1899. There is something that goes along with juvenile justice and that is dissenting justices. What that means is an opinion in a legal case written by one or more judges expressing disagreement. Before the first juvenile court, a juvenile delinquency had to be processed through the adult justice system. This system gave youths much more harsh penalties. Separate juvenile courts started appearing in every state by 1945. In 1966, a young boy named Gerald Gault was taken into custody for making a telephone call that was obscene. Gerald Gault was 15 years old and had previously been on probation. When Gault was arrested, his parents happened to be at work and the police did not leave any notice to them. Gault was then held before a juvenile court and was further admitted to the State Industrial School until he was 21 years old. The disagreements between the judges were if the procedures that were used to commit Gault were legitimate under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision was made by Judge Mcghee and was later found to be wrongly decided. The Court found Gault’s case met none of the requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment. These requirements include notification of both the parents and the child the juveniles opportunity for confrontation and cross-examination during hearings, safeguard...
Words: 536 - Pages: 3
...One of the most complex and sensitive issues involving the justice system is the situation involving violent juvenile crime. Juvenile crime is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial behavior that is beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal action”. A violent juvenile crime would be considered conduct that also harms oneself or harms the people around them. While these acts are heinous and hurt not only themselves and others, we debate on how to solve the problem. While some lay blame to the juveniles themselves, other see the environment and culture to blame. This paper will be discussing nature and extent of violent delinquency, finding the underline causes of it and finally proposes a practical solution to the problem. To do...
Words: 454 - Pages: 2
...The history of the juvenile justice system in America was identical to the adult justice system when it came to incarceration of youth. The only difference during the 16th and later part of the 18th century was that juveniles faced situations where they could be incarcerated for violations that adults would not be subject to merely due to age. Children were incarcerated with adults in general population for violations that did not meet the definitions of criminal behavior. The justice system just did not know what to do with juveniles at the time (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, n.d., p. 1). As the justice system moved into the late part of the 18th century the child saver movement was formed. During this time parents were over worked and poverty levels were at an all-time high. America formed programs to save children from extreme laborious jobs, assist with poverty issues, and provide better educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. The most notable act of the child saver movement was it kicked off juvenile justice reform ("Juvenile Justice - Reformers," n.d., p. 1). America was wake and aware children were getting lost and abused within the current adult justice system....
Words: 479 - Pages: 2
...Future of the Juvenile Justice System Abel Rosas, Kimberly Garner, Brenda Brown Professor: Cory Kelly University of Phoenix CJA374 June 18, 2012 Introduction The juvenile justice system follows along the same lines and guidelines of adult court with a few exceptions to the rules and regulations. There are some changes that need to be made in order for the juvenile justice system to run better. We need to be more adverse in the decisions that are made for our youth of today and their futures tomorrow. What changes need to be made in order for a better adverse system to exist? How are we supposed to make sure that the changes that are made are going to be sufficient enough for everyone to follow? These are just a few questions that need to be answered. These are just a few changes that need to be made in order for the juvenile justice system to work accordingly. Community Involvement In order for the juvenile justice system to have any type of future, the communities need to get more involved in programs where these juveniles can go to after or before school. Prevention programs are very important in decreasing juvenile crime. Children need to know that their actions can have serious consequences and that there are programs out there that can help them if they choose to get help. There are many programs that have been successful in helping juveniles stay out of trouble these include: Boys and Girls Club, after school programs, family support...
Words: 1882 - Pages: 8
...The United States of America’s criminal justice system has two main subdivisions: adult justice and juvenile justice. There were approximately 1.53 million prisoners across America in 2015, and 48,043 of those were juveniles (“Prisoners in 2015”; OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book). People in the juvenile justice system come from all different backgrounds and upbringings. However, it appears that people of some races/ethnicities are more likely to be in prison. This brings up the question: Who is more likely to be in juvenile prison and what factors contribute? Of the various aspects that may impact a person’s likelihood to be in prison–such as age, gender, and sexuality–the one trait that will be focused on is race/ethnicity. So, to answer the...
Words: 796 - Pages: 4
...Future of the Juvenile Justice System The future of the juvenile justice system is uncertain. There is a struggle to try a find a way to serve the needs of the juvenile delinquents and issue them a punishment for violating the law. In order to improve the direction of the juvenile justice system, recommendations are needed regarding community involvement, law enforcement, courts, corrections, and the private sector. These recommendations address issues that the system is currently facing and offers solutions for the future. A justification of the system is also offered based on the histories, trends and causation theories. Community Involvement Community involvement is an important aspect of the juvenile justice system. Police form communities ties through their involvement and contact with those in the community. Juvenile attitudes and perceptions of police are based on several issues. Weakened community ties, fear of crime, and higher levels of strain contribute and create negative juvenile attitudes towards law enforcement. Individuals that do not have contact with the police tend to have the highest perception of law enforcement. In an analysis of juvenile attitudes, it was found that juveniles that had contact with police through prevention programs had similar attitudes towards the police as those that had no contact with law enforcement (Brick, Taylor, & Esbensen, 2009, p. 493). Adjudicated youth with disabilities transitioning back into the community are also...
Words: 1280 - Pages: 6
...The History of Juvenile Justice system: The juvenile justice system began in the 18th Century, when children as young as 7, could stand trial in criminal court and is found guilty they could be sentenced to prison. Around 1825 the separation of juveniles and adult offenders were in effect and soon after, facilities for juvenile were established. In 1899 the first juvenile court was established in Illinois. The British doctrine of parens patriae, where the state would intervene in the lives of children and act as the parent and focus on the welfare of the children. By 1910 many states established juvenile courts services and by 1925 the juvenile courts were trying to figure out a way to merely help children through treatment rather than punishing...
Words: 953 - Pages: 4
