Juvenile Justice System Essay
The first juvenile court was established in Chicago in 1899. Prior to then, minors above seven years of age were brought to trial in a regular criminal court, although many countries have already operated designated prisons for juvenile offenders. Throughout the following 50 years, the courts have evolved to a significantly different form from the rest of the system. Most importantly was the multidimensional approach towards the child, tailoring rehabilitation programs which best fit their specific situation. In some cases, however, young offenders were tried in criminal courts, as some still happens today.
The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, both stress …show more content…
This approach involved, among others, reduced confidentiality for trial hearings (which characterized the traditional juvenile justice system) and contextual-based referral for criminal courts and adult correctional sanctioning (in sharp contrast to the 1974 Act). That is, age alone is no longer the only parameter for the type of court and the subsequent procedures and punishment methods.
These changes and others, which took place during the 1990s, have positively affected the number of crimes committed by youth and reduced the number of juvenile murderers. Since the mid-1990s, which is considered as all-time period of juvenile imprisonment, the number of inmates under 18 years of age has dropped in incremental rate, in terms of both new admissions and proportion of the general inmates’ population (Hartney, …show more content…
Nevertheless, we should rethink and adjust the policies in reference to empirical evidence, in order to achieve the highest effectiveness of preventing juvenile offenders to lifetime criminals.
Bibliography
Peter J. Benekos Alida V. Merlo (2008). Juvenile Justice: The Legacy of Punitive Policy. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 6, pp. 28-46.
Hartney, C. (2006). Youth under age 18 in the adult criminal justice system. Washington, DC: National Council on Crime and
The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, both stress …show more content…
This approach involved, among others, reduced confidentiality for trial hearings (which characterized the traditional juvenile justice system) and contextual-based referral for criminal courts and adult correctional sanctioning (in sharp contrast to the 1974 Act). That is, age alone is no longer the only parameter for the type of court and the subsequent procedures and punishment methods.
These changes and others, which took place during the 1990s, have positively affected the number of crimes committed by youth and reduced the number of juvenile murderers. Since the mid-1990s, which is considered as all-time period of juvenile imprisonment, the number of inmates under 18 years of age has dropped in incremental rate, in terms of both new admissions and proportion of the general inmates’ population (Hartney, …show more content…
Nevertheless, we should rethink and adjust the policies in reference to empirical evidence, in order to achieve the highest effectiveness of preventing juvenile offenders to lifetime criminals.
Bibliography
Peter J. Benekos Alida V. Merlo (2008). Juvenile Justice: The Legacy of Punitive Policy. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 6, pp. 28-46.
Hartney, C. (2006). Youth under age 18 in the adult criminal justice system. Washington, DC: National Council on Crime and