Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Offenders of the law are regarded as criminals and justice needs to be served to them. In criminal law, the Juvenile Justice system is a law meant to deal with individuals that are not of the right age to be convicted of criminal actions. It narrows down to underage children who are involved in such activities. In many states, one is considered a juvenile if one is under eighteen years of age. Therefore, many states are responsible for governing juvenile laws and are responsible for formulating the juvenile codes of conduct (Welch &Dakema 2020). It is, therefore, important for the government and other relevant institutions to deal with criminal justice for both criminals and juvenile criminals.
Juvenile Justice
The juvenile justice system is aimed at maintaining public safety, rehabilitate, develop skills, treat conditions and majorly to improve the life of youth in the society. Over the years, the juvenile justice system has developed over the years in notable phases that has helped achieve the best in delivering justice to the youth.
History of the Juvenile Justice System
In the early times of 19th century, juvenile justice never used to exist in America. Youth who engaged in crimes were treated as criminals and had no form of special treatment until a later time. It was caused by existing factors and there were no other options for the governments. Mixing the young people with other adult criminals was the only way to address issues of crime. Most cities were struggling with issues of child poverty and family neglect in all jurisdiction. It was this that triggered leaders to come up with solutions to address the problems facing citizens, and especially the juvenile justice system.
By mid-19th century, the house of refuge was created and played a very crucial role from the beginning. Other developmental programs introduced at the time were new ideas and innovations of cottage schools out-of-home placement services and also introduction of probation services. These approaches were aimed at improving the social welfare of the youth in the society over the coming years. The state was also supposed to act as a parent when it came to dealing with a convicted youth. It involved intervening in the right way and coming up with a better solution for the affected individual. Therefore, the primary role of the Juvenile court was to provide a rehabilitative and supervisory role in the long run. Judges organized court hearings according to the intensity of the case a child has abused and give individual attention to each case.
Juvenile Justice in 1950s and 1960s
In the above mentioned years, this became an important phase in the development of the Juvenile Justice system. It was here that the public started showing concern on the issue and the role of judges in juvenile court proceedings. Judgements were mainly delivered according to the mood of the judges, and personal judgement towards a convict in the 1950s. However, in 1960s, the Supreme Court made a very important decision regarding the Juvenile courts. More processes were included and most importantly the right to counsel. In cases of formal hearings, juvenile were transferred to adult courts for cases that took longer periods.
Juvenile Crimes in late 1980s
Intervention of the Supreme Court in delivering of judgement posed a major problem. The public perceived that the judgements were too lenient for the juvenile law offenders and blamed this for increased juvenile crimes. In the early 1990s, the crime rates increased and states had to introduce more strict rules and sentences that facilitated ease in transfer of juvenile to an adult court (Zimring, & Franklin). Due to the tough laws set by local states, there was an increased number of inmates in the correctional facilities. This led to massive negative outcomes which were overcrowding and hygienic conditions.
Decline of Juvenile Crimes
Towards the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, many states recorded a reduction in the number of youth convicted for crimes. It meant that many states, led by California, were slowly eliminating youth correctional facilities by reducing the number of arrested youth. These lessons were derived from Massachusetts training institutions which existed in the 1970s making the role of juvenile justice systems questionable. The State of California was able to sweep away most of its reforms in the juvenile justice system within the first decade of the 21st century.
Conclusion
Juvenile justice has evolved over the years and a more decisive reforms have been made. Being a vulnerable group in the society, the traditional forms of justice treated the youth equal to other criminals and there was need to develop reforms over the years that have helped in achieving juvenile justice. The society at large plays an important role when it comes to addressing issues that may make the youth get involved in acts of crime. Juvenile courts offer educational programs and counselling that are relevant in dealing with the matter and maintaining public safety.
Works Cited
Welch, Dakema L. The American juvenile justice system: Examining disparities and effects in sentencing. Diss. Southern New Hampshire University, 2020.
Zimring, Franklin E. American juvenile justice. Oxford University Press, 2018.