Case Study Shoplifting

Charlie is a 10 year old boy who has been detained for several counts of shoplifting. The total number of items that were stolen added up to over $100. This is the first time that Charlie has been in juvenile court and could potentially be the first time that Charlie has stolen. In this case study the Judge, Juvenile probation officer and the police officer need to work together in order to determined what will happen to Charlie due to this being his first encounter in juvenile court. Shop lifting also known as larceny, theft is either divided into grand or petty theft in many states. In Charlie’s case it could be considered a petty theft based on the fact that the items stolen added up to over $100 but less than $500. The law understands that juveniles do not have the same abilities as adults when it comes to making decisions, the purpose of juvenile penalties are intended to rehabilitate and correct the issue, rather than punishing the offender. There are different approaches that can be taken when a juvenile is caught shoplifting and there are also many things to take into consideration before making a decision of what should happen to the juvenile.
Some of the things that need to be taken into consideration
When a person is held in custody of a Police Officer whether it be an adult or a juvenile, the police will process that person the differences will be that the adult will either be put into jail or be put in front of the judge in adult court. Juveniles will either be released to their parent or guardian, be put into a detention center or put in front of the juvenile court judge. After an adult is put in front of the judge for the crime committed say if it is for shoplifting, depending on what was stolen and how much, this will depend on whether the adult will be placed in jail, put on probation, given restitution