A Vision of Today’s Youth - Juvenile Delinquency

A Vision of Today’s Youth

Juvenile Delinquency


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A Vision of Today’s Youth
Juvenile Delinquency
Strayer University
Assignment #1
CRJ 180
Online Summer 2012
Felicia McCaw

A Vision of Today’s Youth
Juvenile Delinquency
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ABSTRACT



Juvenile Delinquency is one of the problematic issues of yesterday and today’s society. The goal of saving youth is the concern of all in this country and establishing a methodology to deal and administer laws to counter violence, criminality and provide rehabilitation to troubled youth involved. Because of the amount of juvenile delinquencies the first court system was established in Cook County, Illinois in 1899. Established under the British legal doctrine of parens patriae “the state as parent” whose purpose was to protect not only the public interest but to intervene and provide guardianship for displaced youth. The purpose of the juvenile court system was not to victimized, traumatized delinquents of a young age but to proceed on its benevolent mission to save youth and provide flexible informal rehabilitation tailored to a juvenile’s individual needs

















A Vision of Today’s Youth
Juvenile Delinquency
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Over the span of years have come the thought that our youth can be saved from juvenile delinquent tendencies. The emotional level of hostile youth has caused a new view that a small tap on the wrist would suffice or that community service would help realign youth instead of a prison conviction sentence.
Unfortunately, the pathos of criminality that spans from a youth to an adult has always been dismissed. Questionable is the criminal culpability level that exists between youth and adults. Psychological studies reflect that significant developmental problems began from the early age of seven and upward. Based on this theory the root of disturbance or juvenile delinquencies result from a lack of moral standards, moral education, principles not installed, lack of integrity and honesty that results in an inability to function properly as a person socialized to retain, use and know the social norms, taboos, and intricacies of what makes society function as a well made sphere with everything in its proper place.
Because of the increased amount of juvenile delinquencies the first juvenile court system was established in Cook County, Illinois in 1899. Established under the British legal doctrine of parens patriae “the state as parent” whose purpose was to protect not only the public interest but to intervene and provide guardianship for displaced youth. The purpose of the juvenile court system was not to victimized, traumatized delinquents of a young age but to proceed on its benevolent mission to save youth and provide flexible informal rehabilitation tailored to a juvenile’s individual needs. By the year of 1925, 48 states had initiated and established a juvenile court system to deal with troubled youth which continued until mid-century.

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Juvenile Delinquency
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Concerns of whether constructive justice was being facilitated occurred during the 1960s as to the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system. Housed in rehabilitation situational structures similar to prisons these juveniles were not being rehabilitated for entry into society but
thrown away from society as human refuse. This behavior or treatment of juveniles lead to controversy and raised the issue of if a juvenile was to be locked away then they needed the same legalities of law afforded to adults because of the unfair methodology of incarceration that was given to them. Being a youth in age afforded neither protection as adults or privileges usually afforded to children.
Due to the injustice that stemmed from this treatment of juveniles this brought about several appeals or challenges to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the disparity and appalling treatment of juveniles in the legal system (as per ruled in decisions Kent v. United States, In re Gault and In re Winship).
In 1974 Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act which is in usage today. By the passing and initiating of this Act the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) was created to encourage states to develop community based programs as alternatives to prisons. The OJJDP had the responsibility of administrating and fulfilling the goals of (1) removing juveniles from jails and prison which housed adults and afforded them more protection, (2) Ending the practice of using the juvenile court system as a way of incarcerating both criminal and non-criminal minors to similar prisonlike institutions for rehabilitation. This theory of rehabilitation supports the viewpoint that people’s behavior, with

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Juvenile Delinquency
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emphasis on youth, can be changed, altered, with negative values eliminated to enable better functioning in society and provide a basis of normalcy to encourage continuity amongst all.
This approach was first issued as a preventive but as the mid-1970s approached the spiraling of violent crimes was targeted by the media and resulted in the American public demanding a “get tough” approach or else attitude and state legislators reacted and responded to the demands of the public and passed punitive laws making it easier to try juveniles in adult criminal courts and consisted of 31 states passing laws expanded sentencing options; 47 states modified confidentiality provisions for juvenile courts and also allowed 22 states to pass laws to allow the victim’s role in juvenile court to be presented better. Presently, this methodology is still in usage with small alterations in laws and procedures in processing.























REFERENCES
PBS (Michigan). Child or Adult? A century Long View. Retrieved July 4, 2012, from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/childadult.html
Answers. Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Retrieved July 4, 2012, from
http://www.answers.com/topic/juvenile-justice-and-delinquency-prevention-act
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Juvenile Justice History. Retrieved July 4, 2012, from
http://www.cjcj.org/juvenile/justice/juvenile/justice/history/0
State of Louisiana, Youth Services, Office of Juvenile Justice. U.S. History. Retrieved July 4, 2012, from
http://ojj.la.gov/index.php?page=sub&id=230