Juvenile justice system

Juvenile justice system

Introduction

The juvenile justice system was founded following the idea that children wanted a separate legal system from that of the adults. It recognizes the different needs among children, such as psychosocial needs and their unique developmental stages. The system has jurisdiction upon children that need protection as well as those engaging in harmful behaviors prohibited by law. If a youth engages in behavior that makes them commit a crime, then they are referred to as delinquent as per the court. When the child goes against the statutes governing their character, they are referred by the courts as the status offender. This involves actions such as running away. The juvenile justice system has had a significant impact on society on how they handle youth’s cases. This paper aims at discussing how the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has evolved. It also focuses on highlighting some risk and protective factors for juvenile delinquency. Lastly, the paper will discuss programs that have changed for the best interest of the children in juvenile as well those that still some improvement.

What is the history of the system?

The juvenile justice system was established in 1899 and set a clear distinction between crime and abandonment. Creating a juvenile system was essential in reframing some cultural and legal procedures with the best interest of the child. At first, the system was tough for children. For instance, in New York City, solitary confinement was rampant, especially for a girl between 16 and 18 years as part (Bernstein, 2014, p.133). The systems have encountered significant changes overtime to ensure that the system becomes favorable to children and also to give them positive change.

In the past years, the juvenile justice system was surrounded by issues of morality and effectiveness. The situation was alarming from the way the youths in the juvenile courts and prisons were treated. The inhuman treatment of the youths characterized the system. The children faced great torture while in juvenile. The punishments were beyond their adapting level. The prisons had an unconducive environment for the children. They were left to sleep on cold metals in a dark room after picking everything from them (Bernstein, 2014, p.135). Some of them were made to stay naked with only a blanket in the cold rooms. It was so inhuman to treat a child in such a manner as punishment. Besides, some of them were put in solitary for 23 hours a day. It was great torture to let a child stay alone in a small dull room. The idea was to help them heal from inside, but instead, it caused them more harm. The children were exposed to trauma and even depression (Bernstein, 2014, p.131). Those with cases of suicidal could not change the idea. There was also a lack of medical evaluation of their psychological well-being. Some individuals chose to be rebellious and thus landed in the juvenile system. However, the attendants may accuse one of being mentally ill and therefore give one unnecessary medication based on the offense committed (Bernstein, 2014, p.136). Besides, there was understaffing causing the courts to have delayed hearing of cases.

In the 1990s, the juvenile courts have been characterized by numerous changes to correct the condition. The judicial system allowed learning to take place for the children in juvenile. The children would thus learn. The treatment of children in juvenile facilities changed, creating a positive change. In the period between 1997 and 2007, violent crime decreased by 27%. In 2012, the Close to Home Act was passed. The state custody was left for the most severe offenders while the rest were out in local jurisdiction (Bernstein, 2014, p.203). Following localization of the juvenile, New York had eighteen of its state juvenile facilities closed. Texas also had nine facilities closed, reducing the cases detained from 4,700 in 2006 to 1,500 in 2012. Also, some changes were made to include the development of the adolescent brain and their mental health (Bernstein, 2014, p. 202). There was a development of the slogan “smart on crime” as opposed to “tough on crime,” which led to improved treatment of the youths at the juvenile facilities (Bernstein, 2014, p.207). The juvenile justice system has not been fully developed on how inhuman treatment; thus, there is a need for the creation of better policies.

What are some risk factors for juvenile delinquency?

Juvenile delinquency is used to describe illegal actions committed by a minor. It is not limited to any crime and thus may involve minor violations such as absenteeism from school to severe crimes like violent actions. Understanding the causes of minor involvement in crime is vital to prevent more crimes from occurring. It can be useful also to ensure they change their behavior by addressing the root causes of the crime. Risk factors of juveniles include entailing the things that expose a minor to committing a crime. The risk factors appear in four categories, which include individual, family, peer pressure, and community.

Individual factor involves the issues within the minor that cause them to perform a crime. The desire to perform crime arises from intrinsic motivation. One may have a rebellious character that pushes them to commit crimes. For instance, according to (Bernstein 2014, p.136), Darren was deliberate on being rebellious. It is boosted by negativity towards life, and thus they gain pleasure by doing wrong. A person may also have poor cognitive development, making them not differentiate what is wrong or right. Having a mental challenge may cause one to be violent hence result in severe crimes. Family risk factor arises when a crime is rooted in family lifestyle and surrounding that a child is raised. when there is a low level of positive parental involvement in child development, there is a challenge. For instance, a parent may not be willing to correct the child and thus may render them in delinquency. According to (Humes 2015 p.202), the parent just watches the kid without questioning the bad behavior. The child even feels that the parent is not caring and concerned about them. The child can hence continue with the mistake since no one says it’s wrong. Exposing a child to repeated family violence may also influence them to be violent. A child may also be exposed to inappropriate child-rearing practices, which may poorly influence their behavior.

Peer pressure factor arises when one is staying firmly with people of their age group that are misbehaving. One can easily be pushed by other people’s characters to engage in devious behavior. Teenagers have a challenge of belonging to a group. They will want to do everything to fit. Therefore, they will what their peers do to avoid being isolated. If the peers they spend time with are involved in delinquent behavior, then they will end up being dragged into such. They will hence be extrinsically motivated to engage in risky behaviors that may render them juvenile facilities. For example, according to (Humes, 2015 p.207), the child who is taken to Dorn does not respect his mother after being influenced by a gangbanger in the neighborhood. The other factor is the community. The leading community for minors in school, and thus it creates a significant impact on their engagement to crimes. When students have poor academic performance, they may tend to have violent behavior to show their mighty in other areas. Also, having fewer aspirations and weak commitments to school may be risky and can easily contribute to crimes. One will be less occupied and thus have time for mischievous activities, which may cause him to end up in juvenile. The surroundings from which individual lives may also influence lousy character. For instance, living in a defiled neighborhood can make one socialize to their way of living and thus make it a usual way of living to commit crimes. When the crime rate in the community is high, then the young ones will be influenced to engage in such a lifestyle. According to (Humes, 2015 p.117), Peggy says that she thought the man was asleep and drunk, which was not an unusual thing in the community. Therefore, in such a setup, there is a likelihood of having children in criminal cases. It is important to note that risk factors are cumulative. Thus, the more risk factors a child is exposed to, the more they are likely to fall into delinquency. The risk factors may influence minors at the different points of their development.

What are some protective factors?

Protective factors are those that influence minors to stay away from delinquency. Minors tend to behave according to the environment. The socialization matters on what they become as they grow and the behavior they portray. When children are exposed to protective factors, they are not likely to find themselves in juvenile facilities. These factors hinder them from committing crimes and thus be well behaved. The protective factors are also grouped into individual factors, family factor, peer factor, and community factor.

Individual protective factors entail personal traits that eliminate one’s engagement in delinquency. Self-efficacy plays a crucial role in enabling one to make a firm decision. It creates confidence in someone that one can control their behavior. It enhances resilience and coping skills that one does not have to be lured in poor behavior but instead stands firms with what they decide to do. Having a high IQ is also essential to stay away from crime as one can process information and apply skills in problem-solving, which helping in overcoming challenges with engaging in delinquency. A minor who has positive moods, less irritable, and highly sociable relates well with people and thus minimizes chances of participating in a crime. Besides, when one has a sense of purpose and positive about life, they may be motivated to pursue what is right for them to excel in life. They will hence remain focused on what will make them realize their goals and avoid what may divert their attention, such as crime.

A family-level protective factor is essential for minors. Family is the most immediate environment in which a child interacts. The family factor is highly influenced by parenting. When there are positive parenting and a stable family, then one is assured of love and support. There are close monitoring and supervision, which makes one disciplined and consisted of it. There are also high expectations created in the family; hence a child has to be focused on meeting them. The peer-level protective factor involves socialization, norms, and attachment. Having the right choice of friends can be useful in ensuring interaction with non-deviant peers. Parents can help their children in the selection of their friends. Positive peers will develop strong social support that will keep one on the right path. They will also impart positive behavior on each other and hence avoid delinquency. Community-level protective factor entails exposing the minors to environments with positive social norms. Besides, when a community has a low crime rate, then there is a likelihood of having responsible children. Also, when the community has set high expectations for the youths like having a high rate of individuals engaging in universities and useful jobs, the minors are likely to work hard. They will devote their time to studies to achieve community standards.

Pick one area (police, court, or corrections) and describe at least one program/policy where the field has improved its approach to handling juveniles,

The juvenile justice system in correction has embarked on using community-based programs that have worked well. They have chosen to work community-based facilities as they are cost-effective and also ensures a positive outcome. The program ensures that minors are not exposed to the harmful treatments in the juvenile systems. As they treat the children well, they develop a positive attitude and thus have influenced their outcome positively.

At least one program/policy that still needs work

The education program for youths in juvenile is not effective. There is still a gap in education between the children in the juvenile justice system and those who never enrolled in juvenile. Very few youths can attain quality education while in the juvenile justice system. It unfortunate the children have to miss out on a basic need that they might require to dictate their success after leaving the juvenile system. The judicial system effectively offers correctional education, which does not make one competent enough. Therefore, the juvenile correction systems need to ensure that the children in their facilities have access to quality education so that they don’t become disadvantaged when they get back to society after their jail term. Education is crucial even in opening up children’s minds. Therefore, proper planning and reforms need to be put in place.

Conclusion

The juvenile justice system is essential to rectify children’s behavior. However, exposing them to harmful environment exposes them to more danger. The juvenile facilities are characterized by maltreatment of minors. Even though there have been changes, there is still more that needs to be done. The children can also be prevented from engaging in crime by identifying and minimizing risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Also, protective factors can be enhanced to promote well-being and good behavior among minors. The community-based program has been effective in ensuring that children are protected from maltreatment in state facilities and improving the juvenile outcome at relatively low cost. However, the education program needs to be enhanced to enable minors to continue with education while in juvenile to improve their success opportunities.

References

Bernstein, N. (2014). Burning down the house: The end of juvenile prison. New Press, The.

Humes, E. (2015). No matter how loud I shout: A year in the life of juvenile court. Simon and Schuster.