For a juvenile to transfer into the adult court system a juvenile must be charged as a youthful offender. Youthful offenders often pose a threat to the community and/ or have committed a violent crime. State legislation has passed youthful offender laws permitting juveniles to be charged as an adult in criminal proceedings.
Essentially, it is obvious St. Louis City juvenile justice has taken great strides in ensuring their clients partake in juvenile justice reform. Certainly, over the years this has been the center piece of the institution in providing a plethora of services, which compassionately meets many of the needs of its youth. However, despite the history and longevity associated with the St. Louis City’s juvenile system, including the uniqueness of the services they provide within the institution today. The need to further develop facility resources, which provides adequate programming and additional tools for its detainees and staff is continual. Clearly, the institution has undoubtedly exceeded many of its own expectations over the years, impressively
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. Although, some teens commit offenses at age thirteen and fourteen. “Approximately 79 individuals who committed offenses at age 13 or 14 have been sentenced to LWOP” (Charles Stimson, Elizabeth
I enrolled in this class to get a better understanding of being a probation officer. My educational goal is to graduate with my associate degree and then transfer to get my bachelor’s degree. My career goal is to help people who are struggling and be able to find solutions to their problems. I want to work with teenagers and help prevent them from going to jail, or prison in the future.
The job of a juvenile probation officer is very meaningful. It involves performing several different duties and putting in a fair amount of hours, but it provides a unique opportunity to intervene in the lives of criminal offenders at a time when they may still be open to reform. Major duties include making arrests and conducting searches in homes, testifying in court, reviews and evaluates
Students in the criminal justice department are taught that our main objective in the justice system and our careers is to serve and also protect those involved in our community. For as long as I can remember, my goal in life has been to provide service by protecting and serving those who are close to me. My penchant for service is what eventually led me to the Criminal Justice program at Valdosta State University.
In the United States, there have been many cases where a juvenile would be found guilty and be tried as an adult. There are other cases where those juveniles are tried as adult forever. I am against charging juveniles as adults when they commit violent crimes, the juveniles lose many educational opportunities and the adult system is far too dangerous for the young juveniles.
There are indication that most criminals have a juvenile records in the US, indicating that crime manifests from a tender age. Therefore, to reverse the incidence of crime, it follows that the best strategy is to reduce the criminal orientation in the juvenile offenders as opposed to hardening them and preparing them for criminal careers. The case of the Crossroads Juvenile Center demonstrates the willingness of the juvenile justice systems to make these changes on the children.
“He found that youths were likely to spend considerably more time in adult correctional facilities than juveniles that were sent to state juvenile facilities,” (Krisberg 176). Juvenile offenders has become an excelling issue since the beginning of the first juvenile institutions in the 19th century (Shoemaker 5). The issue then arises, should juvenile offenders be tried as children or adults. This is an important issue that can impact many children and society as a whole, therefore this issue should be taken wisely.
Being a volunteer with the Independence Youth Court has allowed me to grow as a person and find a path in life that I plan to make a career. Youth Court is a diversion court system in my city where juveniles who have committed misdemeanor offenses can go for arraignment and trial amongst a court made up of their peers. Through my experience being a volunteer attorney and judge, I have been given the chance to practice speaking in a courtroom. This rare opportunity gave me a skill that I will value down the line as I begin my career as a lawyer. Further, this opportunity has allowed me to practice public speaking which will follow me far beyond the confines of the Independence Youth Court. The confidence in speaking in a courtroom that I have gained from volunteering has given me a new outlook on my future. Before volunteering, I never would have thought my dream would be to become an attorney and argue in front of a court. However, the Independence Youth Court has inspired me to go to law school and follow this dream that I once thought was impossible. I truly have a passion for the judicial system and the Independence Youth Court has guided me through the discovery of this passion and through finding the confidence to know it is possible.
I believe that probation officers are the best chance for youths to be rehabilitated. Not only are probation officers there to make sure the youth follows court orders and attends any assigned programs, but I believed probation officers also serve as a social agent in the life of the juvenile to help
My career goal is to become a lawyer in the Juvenile Court System, my goal is to be able to help children in anyway I can. I feel that children are always misunderstood and that all they need is a little bit of guidance to be able help them. Another one of my goals is to take care of foster children, I want to be help take care of them. I have a lot of aspirations, it helps that I have a very big heart and an outgoing spirit. I love helping people, but I feel that I can help children more with the way of life and show them that they should never give up and that someone will always be there to cheer them on even if they fall and with hopefully working Juvenile Court that I would be able to give young children in trouble a better option and
Programs for juveniles are supposed to prevent children from entering or reentering the Juvenile System. Current programs that are being used today for prevention can be altered to fit the needs of more juveniles in different situations. One of the extension of these programs needs to be for those juveniles in foster care. A great percent of children in foster care gets involved in criminal activity than the children who stay with their parents (Doyle Jr., 2008). If this does not get resolved, the juveniles in foster may start off with simple crimes but, without help, will evolve to harder criminal activity. One program that would be a positive influence for foster care juveniles is the School Transitional Environmental Program. It is a program
For my Diverse Field Experience this semester, I spent fifteen hours at the Mclean County Juvenile Detention Center. This particular center was occupied by about 8-14 juveniles at a time, all depending on court dates and occupancy of other nearby detention centers. This center usually had 3 staff members working the shift every time I went, which was seven to nine on weekday afternoons. I was intrigued to go to at this time because I thought it would be the time of the day were the juveniles had no school work or other obligations to do while I was there. I wanted to see what they liked to do in the free time before bed, the only stipulation being mandatory snack time at eight pm. I have seen plenty of students in a classroom environment during my clinicals here at
Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.