Juvenile Offenders

Over the years, there has been many changes in the system of law when it comes to juvenile offenders. Also, there has been many debates over the issue of how to punish minors. Some think that a minor would know the difference between wrong and right, and some think they wouldn’t. Others think that punishments for adults are too harsh for children, mainly for more violent crimes, such as murder or rape. For less serious offences, such as drug abuse or underage drinking the consequences can also be harsh, and ruin a minors’ future. The debates have improved over the years, but they will always be argued over. There will possibly never be a solution to the punishments of juvenile offenders. A little over one hundred years ago, the U.S. treated all children exactly like adults when it came to the system of law. According to “Juvenile Justice: A Brief Overview.” A 7 year old girl in Alabama was put to death for murder. Things have since changed, because of the realization that a minor, compared to an adult, is less mature. Therefore they are less capable of intent when committing a crime. There was then a “punitive model”. This was putting the focus primarily on the best interest of society, rather than on the minor. Juvenile court was another tactic used to try and solve the problem of what to do about minor crime offenders. There are different levels of offences in juvenile court. A crime considered as “delinquency” is “any behavior prohibited by state juvenile law and includes anything from underage drinking to murder”, according to web resource “Juvenile Court: A Brief Overview”. A status offence is an act that wouldn’t be considered a crime if committed by an adult, but is forbidden to children. To have either of these types of crimes reviewed in juvenile court you must be between the ages of 7-18. In some states the ages differ to 7-16, or 7-19 years old. The reason the minimum age is 7, is because children under the age of 7 are considered to be “incapable of determining differences between wrong and right”. Some people disagree with the ages, stating at the age of 15 you would know the laws well enough to be treated as an adult. Punishments to minors include the following procedures. “If a child under the age of 7 commits a crime, his/her parents may have to pay a compensation to anyone victimized by acts of a very young child”, according to Kathleen Michor in “Juvenile court: An Overview”. A minor committing a crime may be sent to a traditional juvenile detention center. They may also be placed under house arrest, be sent to counseling, have a curfew, or be put on probation. Some juvenile cases are transferred to adult court in a procedure called a waiver. These cases usually involve rape or murder, so this happens very rarely. More common cases are made for theft, simple assault, drug abuse, disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. These offences make up roughly half of all minor arrests made. Only 3% of cases heard in juvenile court are violent cases such as robbery, rape, murder, and aggravated assault. 27% of juveniles facing proceeding are females, and 73% are males. These offenders only serve about 27% of the sentence imposed. More serious and violent offenders are more likely to be incarcerated and receive longer sentences than juveniles retained in the juvenile system. Most juveniles know what they are doing when they commit a crime. However, there will always be the family of a “good” kid trying to defend them. Therefore there will be arguments and debates forever about how to treat a juvenile criminal. There probably isn’t a real conclusion to the debates, besides just continuing the punish juveniles in juvenile court. Some minors just do crimes for the fun of it, and there isn’t much to do about that. Maybe one day things will change, for a happy-medium. But until that day, just think, does treating kids like adults make a difference?