The matter by which juveniles are processed and handled in the criminal justice system vary on the model and philosophy being used in the proceedings itself. If Parens Patriae, or the Treatment Model was being used, The state would deal with juveniles differently than it would adult offenders, in a much more gentle and caring way, which would be considered informal and flexible. The judge would act in a very calm and caring manner, and would attempt to probe the roots of the child's difficulties. The Treatment Model views child delinquency as some sort of underlying personality problem.
My Three Tenets: A Blueprint for Juvenile Justice Reform After reading Chapter thirteen in our textbook, I learned about the Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG) and how they created the Blueprint for Juvenile Justice Reform for the entire United States. In that blueprint is the nine basic tenets that is the ground work for juvenile justice reform. The nine basic tenets are: reduce institutionalization, reduce racial disparity, ensure access to quality counsel, create a range of community-based alternatives, recognize and serve youths with specialized needs, create smaller rehabilitative institutions, improve aftercare and reentry, maximize youth, family and community participation, and keep youths out of adult prisons. All of the nine basic tenets are important to juvenile justice reform.
Education will be provided to the juveniles to explain the repercussions of their actions and the results of another offence. Education will also be proved to the parents/guardians to improve the home situation and how to help the juvenile take on the restorative justice program in full force. Pre-program assessments must be completed for every juvenile to be place in this restorative justice program. Assessments will be taken often during and after the programs completion. The initial assessment will be a set in place to gather background information on the juveniles family/community situation, and continuous mental, physical and
Teen Court Teen court also known as youth courts is a juvenile justice system program that permits teens to try and sentence their fellow peers for committing minor and status offenses. The main purpose of the teen court is to make young offenders accountable for their wrong doing by paying the price for their offences. However this system keeps first time offenders away from the Juvenile system and gives them a chance to change. In order for a youth to be considered to serve on a teen court, the young individual must be 8th to 12th grade with good academic standing, the teen must be nominated by teacher, parent or him or herself, an application must be filled up and signed with the parent’s approval.
These reasons lead me to believe that the Crime Control Model which emphasizes efficient arrest and conviction of criminal offenders is the more
The decision to try a juvenile as an adult varies drastically across the globe as each country or state has its own set of laws and principles regarding the approach taken to juveniles in the court system that differ from those of other countries (Juvenile Vs Adult). In countries like India and France, there are sometimes entirely separate courts (France’s being called Juvenile Assize) and certain amendments that allow for those aged 16-18 who have committed “heinous” offenses to be tried as adults (Singhl). Places such as Iran and the Middle East try everyone as though they are the same, so minors can receive equal trials and sentences as adults (Mostafaei). Considering there is a range of policy and court differences, and for the purposes
Sentencing juveniles to prison happens to be a very controversial topic today. Many people believe that juveniles should receive the same consequences as an adult criminal and a vast amount of people believe that juveniles should be given a second chance. I personally believe that a child should not be given the same consequences as an adult so the question I would like to pose to my audience is should juvenile offenders be offered the same consequences as adult offenders? Statistics show that across the nation at least 1,200 people are sentenced to life without parole for a crime they committed when they were under the age of 18. Majority of people will argue that this justified because if a child is given a second chance they will continue to commit crimes in the future.
If a teenager were to commit murder, most people say that they should be sentenced to life without parole. If a teen is sentenced to life without parole, they are also sent to adult prisons. In adult prisons, teens do not “have access to any education” (Caitlin Curly), therefore, they cannot learn anything from prison. Even if some prisons have educational services, teens in adult prisons are “36 times more likely to commit suicide than those in juvenile facilities” (Caitlin Curly). Consequently, these teens won’t live with being in jail their whole lives.
In the United States prisons there are two thousand juveniles serving life without parole before, the age of eighteen. Only one of a few countries in the world allows children, to be sentenced to prison without release. And, the United States is one of them holding young teens accountable for their actions. But, there is accordance with age, stage development and how their cases should be dealt with in court. There are an estimated twenty-six percent of juveniles sentenced to prison for life convicted with felony murder.
Imagine being a child imprisoned for committing a crime for which you did not understand the consequences. Alone and afraid, with only hardened criminals and psychopaths as adult role models, you live in fear. Through a vicious combination of physical, sexual, emotional, and mental abuse, there is no option but to turn back to crime as an adult, and continue the cycle. This is a daily reality for thousands of American juveniles. Yet, we continue to call it the juvenile justice system.
The crime control model believes that punishments for crime should be strict and severe but also be quick. The purpose is to demonstrate to criminals that if they do commit a crime, it won’t be easy for them to get away without being punished. This model isn’t intend to scare people or criminals but it is intended to discourage criminal actions as it shows that the outcome for crimes is a severe punishment. The crime control model also has a goal to put cases through the system quickly rather than having them go to trial because it takes too much time and can also reduce the efficiency. This process also encourages the expansion of court powers if necessary.
The 1970s were a transitional time for penal theories to reform punishment practices and policies (Tonry, 2005). Penal theory shifts from “indeterminate sentencing” with maximum penalties to “determinate” system with minimum mandatory sentencing (Tonry, 2005). For recent historical criminology and penology, with an increasing concentration on economic, social and psychological forces, criminologists put greater emphasis on rehabilitation as the best way of punishment in both Australia and the United States (Cohen, 1981). The United States juvenile justice system can be seen as an example that penal theory attempted to balance rehabilitation and punishment for criminal acts.
While some approaches to rehabilitation involve therapy and restructuring individuals thinking processes, one might argue against this approach (Carney, 2015). Blackburn (1993) and Siegel and Welsh (2015) explain that this approach focuses on intellectual and moral development. This approach is widely used in the criminal justice system for rehabilitation in therapy and with juvenile delinquent programs. The disadvantage to this theory is that juveniles may just obey the law to avoid punishment, therefore not learning from their mistakes (Siegel, 2015). For example, a person who is on parole for a first offense may learn how to avoid getting caught again by learning what behaviors police watch for.
The underlying philosophy of the juvenile system in the United States has to do with the well-being of the offenders. The focus on the system is rehabilitation, education, and protection. When in this this system, the offenders are supposed to gain all the needed tools to be able to turn their ways of life around and become a productive citizen once they are out of the system. The rehabilitation part of the system is probably the most important aspect of the program. Offenders are given the resources to become clean from drugs.
The juvenile correctional system is similar to the adult correction system. However, some juvenile correctional systems are also recognized as juveniles being incarceration is similar like being at home. Over time, the juvenile correction system has faced issues that, with time, are being solved. One change that is taken place in the juvenile correction is that the youths are being screened. Facilities focus on screening for substance abuse, mental health needs, educational needs, and suicide risks etc...
