Argumentative Essay On Police And Juveniles

Essay #1 As a public defender in the juvenile court, you have been asked to speak to a youth advocacy group about police and juveniles. In exactly three paragraphs, summarize “what the police don’t want you to know.” Under no circumstances should a child ever be interrogated by the police without a lawyer present. Juveniles have the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer, but often are not made aware of this. Instead, a majority of children waive their rights to a lawyer and are interrogated by the police alone. The statement that juveniles give to police are usually the primary evidence used against them in court. People think that police are there to serve and help citizens; however, this is not the case. Police are trained law enforcement officers who are not there to help the child, but help provide evidence that the crime was indeed committed. However, these, amongst other things, are things that the police don't want you
They don’t have the money to hire properly trained staff with the right tools to help juveniles, nor do they have the right tools when it comes to reporting and investigating possible abuse cases. Even when possible abuse cases are reported correctly, probation officers, judges, and the juvenile’s attorney who handle it often aren't made aware of them. My son, like most children in these institutions, is represented by a public defense attorney due to my inability to afford my own lawyer. Public defenders have large caseloads with children in institutions being on the bottom of their to-do list. On top of this, when children are placed into a juvenile institution, they often lack access to contacting their family. This can prevent my son from letting me know how he is doing and what is going on. Due to the lack of communication going on, information about facilities can be hard for me to get, and can lead to the unknown abuse of my fourteen year old