Male and Female Juvenile Offenders

- The criminal justice system (courts) puts harsher penalties upon the male juveniles due to statistics showing they are the main offenders. This is a basic thinking upon our society, as females are obviously seen as the more emotional sex, thus judges are able to take pity upon their emotional inadequacy. While juvenile males on the other hand have a moral restriction where they have not been so free with their emotions. Since judges are able to take the emotions which are shown in court into the sentencing process, thus it could be said, female juveniles will receive a less harsher penalty then juvenile males due to statistics and moral attitudes of our society today upon males. - Furthermore Police are also quite awae of the statistics which are present by the Bureau of Statistics... Thus an article printed in the SMH "Black and Blues"- 6/7/05 where it outlines police were using their discretionary powers only upon Aboriginal males in Redfern. Once again this evidence backs up the claim of how differently a male and a female is treated in the criminal justice system. That is police have the right to search and break up gatherings on the street under the Young Offenders Act 1997(NSW) but due to statistics they will apply their discretionary powers upon males more then females thus bringing upon discrimination between males and female juveniles in the criminal justice system. Regardless of the differences, both male and female juveniles are able to access the Children's Court, with all fees paid for by legal aid without any question. But it is just after they arrive at court, that the discriminatory factors come into action, and also before court by police practicing discrimnatory dicretion brings upon intitutionalised