Essays on Juvenile Justice

Introduction

The present document provides a brief overview of the culture of Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) and its characteristics. Further, it explains the organization’s culture and learning abilities to assess its change initiatives.

Company Review

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is a juvenile detention center for rehabilitation of individuals involved in delinquency cases. Florida Department of Juvenile Justice operates in Florida to adopt and provide strategic and social services with an objective of the wellbeing of society (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, 2010). The organization provides different social services to children and their families traced in the dependency actions ...

Impetus for Change

Impetus for Change In any organization, there is always room for improvement and change at regular intervals. Department of Juvenile Justice makes sure that the youth is controlled and supervised in communities through supervision, counseling, and various other services. The paper highlights the type of change in an organization’s structure needed to bring improvement in the services provided and how the change is communicated to see the practical result. Successful change requires proper guidance and leadership abilities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the type of change brought in Department of Juvenile Justice to meet the ...

Problem Statement

Mental disorder has become an emerging problem in the Juvenile justice system. It has been identified that there are already juvenile delinquents who have mental conditions but they are often placed and treated similarly to those not suffering from mental disorders. It is a problem that if not addressed can result into harmful consequences for the entire society. Therefore, it is imperative to embark on a study that will help in identifying such delinquent youths, as well as solutions that can be applied to eventually contain the situation.

Justification of the Problem

The juvenile justice system is increasingly facing challenges of youth with ...

Youths are not generally tried in adult court for the crimes that they commit. This is because most of the crimes committed by youths are not serious enough to justify incarcerating them alongside adult offenders. Most youths are tried in juvenile court and are sentenced to serve time in juvenile detention facilities if convicted. However, this does not apply to youths who are convicted of more serious crimes, such as murder. The age at which a person can be tried in adult versus juvenile court differs between states. In forty-one states the maximum age of a juvenile before being ...

Research Paper

Abstract The youth is the most at-risk group in terms of gang membership nowadays. It has been found in several studies that gang involvement largely appeal to adolescents, especially those living in poor neighborhoods, estranged or alienated in schools, and in conflict with police authorities or the larger criminal justice system. Researchers reported that the youth turns to gangs to compensate for their lack of adequate and proper socialization. Large communities, or areas with sizable populations, have serious gang-related problems. This paper discusses existing empirical studies on gang formation, membership, and violence. There is a considerable dearth of studies ...

Incarceration is used to deter juveniles from committing crimes, making the juvenile system more punitive. Serious juvenile crimes are those of a violent in nature, as reported in the FBI Uniform Crime Report. Juvenile arrests for robbery were alarming as this increased more than 30% since 2004 (Roberts 3). Female offenders for robbery have also increased, as reported in 1985 to 2002. Drug abuse violations rank next, but could also be the reason for committing robbery and violent crimes. This kind of juvenile offenses can be considered serious and needs more severe punishment. However, the question here is the ...

Incarceration appears to be one of the most popular forms of punishment for committing crime or other offences. The largest number of prison population is in the United States. According to a study, performed in 2013 by Lauren E. Glaze and Danielle Kaeble, statisticians by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), about two million adults were incarcerated and others less than five million were under parole or probation. Totally 6 899 000 adult individuals were under the supervision of Criminal Justice System (prisons, jails, parole, probation) in 2013. (Glaze, L., Kaeble, D., 2013) With the establishment of prisons, ...

Alternatives to Incarceration

Alternative to incarceration refers to a punishment other than involving jails or prison for an individual who is found guilty of a crime. There has been a history of alternative punishments with a special focus on past few decades. Here, it is also important to mention that juvenile are individuals that have not reached the mature age or have not grown into majors in legal terms (ACLU, 2016). So any crime committed by this category of individuals will be regarded as juvenile delinquency or juvenile crime. Several alternatives to incarceration for juvenile have been introduced over the period of ...

In the history of American law and justice, the first juvenile court was established in1899. The Juvenile Justice and Correctional Process is made up of a few phases that are utilized to help the child whose age ranges between 7 to 18 years for the interest of the both the society and the youths. In addition, there are guidelines on judgment techniques, circumstances, and contribution that contrast inside states. Thus, the objective of this essay is to investigate the juvenile procedure and correction in California while considering the case study of Colleen a 15 year old who was arrested ...

A Chart that Illustrates the Criminal Justice System

Differences between the steps in the Juvenile and the Adult criminal justice systems There are differences that exist between the juvenile and the adult court systems in the US. One such difference touches on the topic of legal proceedings. In the adult criminal justice system, the reason for accusing an adult is on the grounds of a crime and in such a case, the proceedings are referred to as trials. The reason for charging a juvenile is on the grounds of the youth having indulged in a delinquent act and such a case; the proceedings are referred to as ...

Disadvantages of Juvenile Justice System

The primary disadvantages found in the juvenile justice system are both interconnected and based largely on what it fails to do as opposed to what it does. Although it was designed to meet the unique needs of children involved in criminal activity as a means of curtailing recidivism, it has not consistently been able to meet the very standards it has set for itself. Worse yet, in failing to do so, the juvenile justice system has acted to complicate the problem even more. Issues of escalating criminal behavior in adulthood, failure to address mental health needs, and racial bias ...

The debate on whether minors should be held in the same stature as adults for equal crimes is one that has been raging on for a long period. The debate is occasioned by the enticing argument that any form of societal and criminal misconduct should always be tackled by undertaking tougher punishments on offenders regardless of age. However, applying the same metric of punishment to juveniles as adults is not the solution. It is especially the case considering that research indicates that minors that receive adult sentences become more likely repeat offenders as opposed to those that go through ...

In Los Angeles County, California, the Probation Department is one of the largest bureaucratic organizations in the Unites States. Within this Department, there are adult and juvenile sectors. The juvenile sector is comprised of 3 juvenile hall facilities, and roughly about 23 residential treatment facilities, also referred to as camps, and lock down placements for juveniles with a vast array of social, and psychological issues. The facility that I attended was Central Juvenile Hall, which is located in East Los Angeles, California. Central Juvenile hall was established in 1912, and is the largest of the three probation juvenile halls ( ...

1. Introduction

A. Describe the issue

A juvenile is a minor or an individual who has not attained eighteen years of age. Juvenile justice is an area of criminal law that deals with people who have not reached eighteen years ("Juvenile Justice"). In essence, the laws and jurisdiction apply to minors and are evidently different from those used on people above eighteen years. In the recent past, there have been passionate debates and claims about trials on minors especially those involved in serious crimes such as first-degree murder. Many youths are tried as adults yet in the eyes of the law they are ...

Type of Facility: Juvenile rehabilitation, education, and treatment center for the state of California.

I was given the tour by the institution’s secretary, a Mr. Scott Kernan. I chose this facility due to my interest in juvenile justice and the need to have a first-hand view and understanding of how juvenile offenders are treated and rehabilitated by the criminal justice system. The primary purpose of this facility is to provide education and treatment to youthful juvenile offenders in California State who have committed serious criminal offenses or felonies that require intensive treatment services in a secure and structured environment. It is a juvenile correctional facility that aims at helping youthful offenders to ...

In Gridiron Gang, the character of Willie Weathery had many factors that could explain why he became delinquent. Family disruption, peers, gang membership, peer pressure, strain, community disorganization, social learning, low self-control and labeling are all theories and causes used to explain delinquent behavior and are all reasons why Willie Weathery engage in the delinquent act that landed him in juvenile detention. There is no single cause of delinquency. Many factors that combine to motivate a juvenile to engage in delinquent behavior.

FAMILY DISRUPTION

In the movie, Willie Weathery appears to live with his mother and younger brother. At no time ...

Abstract

This paper evaluates several sources to try and determine whether the needs of youth in juvenile detention facilities are being met. While most youths consider counselling to be effective, more than half of them do not have the pleasure of working with professional mental health personnel. The education system used in most of these facilities tends to be ineffective because the needs of detained youth are different from the needs of their counterparts in the general population. Further, there are various disruptions, including court proceedings and security procedures that take up plenty of time that would be used for ...

ABSTRACT

There are serious rising trends involving children and teens committing all sorts of crime, from individual acts to gang activity, all over the country. The issues regarding juvenile delinquency are a topic of great research and debate. There are a number of many theories from multiple disciplines, including economic, biological, psychological and sociological, that believe can explain why some children and teens become juvenile delinquents and others do not. Ultimately, there are many theories and each make valid points but, also, have weaknesses. Realistically, it is likely a combination of these different possibilities, making many of the causes of ...

Gun violence is a multi-faceted issue that plagues modern American society. It becomes even more tragic when you consider that a lot of gun related crimes are committed by juveniles, and the number of such offenses is rising every day. For instance, here’s a report by the National Center for Health Statistics: “the handgun homicide rate for this age group increased 158 percent from 1984 to 1993. These data contrast sharply with a 19-percent decline in firearm murders among those individuals age 24 and older for the same time period.“ (Wilson, 2000) Those statistics are the proof that ...

Question 1

According to Tregeagle and Orr (2003), they argued that there are many Australian children that at one point or another, during their influential years, are not be cared for adequately. For many, this is a brief period that passes however for some; this maltreatment lasts beyond theirtender years and impacts their life. The abuse of children can be defined as any non-accidental behaviour by any adult in the child’s life that causes physical or psychological harm. The behaviour can be intentional, such as abuse, or unintentional, such as neglect (Bromfield, 2005; (Christoffel et al., 1992). It was meant ...

Introduction

Psychological evaluation of juvenile offenders is an important part of the juvenile court system. This is because the main purpose of the juvenile justice system is the rehabilitation of the juvenile offenders who exhibit different psychological problems and others are raised by dysfunctional families. This means that a juvenile offender may require psychological treatment, assistance with their education, or treatment for a substance abuse problem. Provision of the right rehabilitation service will help in reducing the chances of recidivism. The psychological evaluation of the juvenile offenders may reveal some valuable information to the juvenile court that might assist in ...

CONTENTS 1. Introduction 3 2. The Causes of Juvenile Crime and Masculinity Theories 4 2.1. Connell’s Hegemonic Masculinity Theory 4 2.2. Youth Gangs in the USA and Masculine Gang Formation 5 2.3. The Causes of Juvenile Gang Crime 6 3. Discussion and conclusions 8

References 9

Introduction The United States of America has one of the highest incarceration and crime rates in worldwide. In accordance with the findings of the United States Department of Justice approximately 10-12% of all crime perpetrated in the country is attributed to the minors. Despite the fact that there is a steady decline of crime ...

Juvenile and adult systems differ in many ways. For instance, juveniles are tried for delinquent acts, while it is only very serious cases that lead to a case being referred to as the adult justice system. Secondly, they do not have a jury in their trials. In contrast, they have a judge hearing the evidence and ruling if the child is errant (Clarke, 2015). What’s more, when they are deemed to be juveniles, the goal is to rehabilitate, rather than punish as it is in the adult justice system. This is proof that juveniles are not adults, thus ...

Abstract:

Mental illnesses altogether place a significant burden of disorder on young people. They induce adequate negative outcomes short- and long-term in several domains. Many youths with mental illnesses such as Bipolar disorder and Schizophrenia fall into the clutches of the criminal justice system (CJS) due to their risky behavior. This leads to a problematic quality of life. The main objective of the paper is to highlight about the mental illnesses in youth and the criminal justice system. A web search was conducted and quality articles were retrieved. It was observed that mentally ill youth encounter trouble with regard to ...

The living environment shapes who people are. Naturally, in neighborhoods with a negative criminogenic environment, people often go deviant, and, when they do, it often is at a relatively young age. Researchers have gone to great lengths to study the underlying causes of delinquent behavior of young residents. Poverty appears to be one of the principal driving forces of offenders long with income disproportion, albeit to a far lesser extent. The blockade of opportunities or the means to achieve culturally acceptable norms in the society is also an important motivation. While race is not universally found to cause delinquency, ...

A Brief Overview of the Juvenile Justice System

The Juvenile Justice System is dominated by interpretation, beginning with what a juvenile is within our legal system. Dealing with such a large and important social group within our society it has gained importance through our judicial history. The basis of the system is to provide protection for those who have yet to gain the full protection of the laws as adults. In the age of social media, its role has expanded. Being a part of the judiciary system it is affected by case law and precedent as it continues to grow as a shield for those young people ...

Abstract

In any state, the court system and structure plays a significant role in ensuring the judicial system is effective. States that have a strong court system have proved to be successful in solving major challenges as pertains to the interpretation of the constitution. Puerto Rico needs to have in place a strong court system to ensure that the enforcement of various dynamics is effective. In coming up with the court system and structure, this paper heavily borrows from three states: Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina. These states are well-known for their strong legal systems. Because of this, it would ...

The

ABSTRACT The underage offenders can not be treated as adult criminals. Children have more chances to change. A special court system for juveniles has created a service-delivery system that provides minors with education, guidance, and supervision. The courts for juveniles also differ from the ones for adults. Commonly, the juvenile courts are informal in order not to stress the child, but minors has still have less rights in the court than adults. Also children can be punished for the cases that are absolutely legal for adults, like possession of alcohol and tobacco and running away from home. Minors are ...

Abstract

Studies documenting substance abuse have shown that it is deadly. Studies done in these areas have shown a trend in the abuse of substance among the youth. Substances such as marijuana, alcohol and cannabis are continually being abused by the youth. Tobacco consumption by youth is yet to be mitigated. The government, has in some cases, not helped the situation but has served to escalate the crises by making potent substances available to users without regulation. The objectives of this research are to analyze the opinion of researchers I this field and their opinions on the matter at hand. ...

The sentencing of youths after trials to adult prison has continued in the United States for quite some time now with an estimated 250, 000 youths being incarcerated as adults and hence landing into Adult prison annually. This has been attributed to the changes in laws across forty-nine American states in the ‘90s that increase the number of youths being given adult trials. However, CDC (Center for Disease and Control) and the US Department of Justice stated in 2008 that sending minors to a criminal justice system that is specifically designed to handle adults does not reduce or protect ...

ABSTRACT

The juvenile crime rate has made a significant increase in America as children as young as eight years old are committing violent crimes. The juvenile justice system was first created to keep children out of adult prisons and to rehabilitate the children so that they will become productive non-criminal adults. This system has not been effective. Children are impacted by many factors when faced with decisions in today’s society. They are not as developed and lack the reasoning capability like adults. Thus, new approaches to juvenile justice must be instilled throughout the country in order to prevent more ...

[Subject/Course] [Submission Date]

Introduction In the United Kingdom, the Youth Justice Board is responsible for overseeing the youth justice system in the country. According to the law, children and adolescents (10-17 years of age) are subjected to custody if found involved in criminal activities. Violence and theft are the most common crimes for which juvenile offenders are convicted. As far as the major purpose of the youth justice system in UK is concerned, it is to make sure that the young offenders are managed properly. It needs to be mentioned here that the UK youth justice system stresses on ...

Every person wants to have and live in a peaceful community, a place with no threats of violence. One of the known causes of violence in many communities is the gang violence. There are many evidence showing that problems pertaining to gangs are proliferating different small and large cities across the country. Which is why establishing an anti-gang program is an important approach in order to address the associated problems with gang in the communities. The purpose of this writing is to design an anti-gang program based on the essential components proposed by either a state or federal program ...

(Institute/University/College)

Introduction

In the study of Freng (2001), the factors of racial background as well as ethnic origins have long found an association with criminal conduct. Even from the years that slavery was practiced in the United States, debates and arguments on the inordinate representation of minorities either in conflict or in the custody of one element of the criminal justice system have been proffered as to whether this overrepresentation is the result of bigoted policies being implemented by the authorities or are these instances only proffer that these minorities are genetically inclined towards criminal conduct. In addition, since ethnic ...

Introduction

In the end of the twentieth century the United States was concerned with the spread of the drug abuse among the pregnant females. Several experts came to the conclusion that the addiction to the drug during the pregnancy will impact the mental and physical health of the child. Moreover, the experts predicted that the children born by the mother using the drugs will show the unsatisfactory academic performance. Besides, it should be said that the increased interest of society to the problem with crack babies was caused by the policy introduced by Ronald Reagan on position of the President ...

The rebuttal of the presumption of innocence amongst under-aged children is done in cases when a child commits a serious crime. Thus, when a child between ages 13 and 16 commits a serious crime like murder or aggravated sexual assault, such a child is charged like an adult. In spite of this, such a process leads to serious consequences for these underage offenders who are often below their formative years. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impacts of charging minors who commit serious crimes like adults. This will include the review of the implications and possibility ...

Study

Abstract Juvenile transfer laws is one of the most controversial issue on the today’s criminal justice agenda of the United States of America. Thus, the policymakers vehemently argue that the possibility of being tried ‘as an adult’ is an effective general, specific and potential deterrent of juvenile crime. Enacted in the majority of the states, the juvenile transfer laws are thought to be an effective restraint against juvenile recidivism, an effective tool for rehabilitation of the young offenders and a solution, which protects the community against the most dangerous juvenile offenders. Yet, the several studies demonstrated that these ...

In my research paper, I decided to open the concept of judicial protection of the juvenile justice system. However, to understand more the problem and all aspects, firstly, I need to explain what the criminal law is and when it was formed. The Criminal Law of the United States was formed and developed under the influence of English law of the precedents. The USA is federal country, which has federal criminal laws and criminal laws of individual states. These two systems are parallel. The federal criminal laws set only responsible for the crimes that infringe on the security of ...

The community has been struggling with the efforts to have a proper justice system for youth offenders. It is inevitable that there are a lot of crimes that are perpetuated by youths. Juvenile justice system has been designed to cater their needs. This would include the immediate family of the offender. What is really the essence of juvenile justice system? The treatment for youth offenders over the years has been changing. In the ancient times, the crimes made by youth are still punishable on the same level with adult’s punishment. This has been contested through civilizations. In the ...

Everyone is acquainted to the notion of a teenager. In the American culture, there is the concept of a teenager, which determines the socio-demographic group of people aging from 13 to 20 years. This period of life is quite difficult for the teenagers as they are tempted by the desire to commit forbidden things and even break the law. The reasons for this may be numerous as the social group of teenagers is a complicated notion that demands special attention both from the parents and the state government. Every year juvenile delinquency increases largely and there should be observed ...

It is an admitted reality that correctional facilities across the United States, and even around the world, are becoming overcrowded. Moreover, the rate of such overpopulation is still growing and counting. The authorities should also take into consideration other related issues like the health of the prisoners and the risk of escaping from detention that accompany the problem of overpopulated prisons. However, not all of those persons incarcerated are convicted felons. Some of them were detained on mere suspicion of a crime. Others are still undergoing trial. Their crimes range from petty, like abuse of the illegal substance, to ...

Treatment for Juvenile offenders

Introduction

The main objective behind the formation of juvenile justice system was to administer rehabilitation to young offenders, contrary to subjecting to them to the adult justice system that has the main objective of administering punishment. Because of public outage, the juvenile system has undergone a number of reforms due to various legislations and social movements that changed the way juvenile offenders are treated when facing the criminal justice system (Springer & Roberts, 2007). The public perception concerning the nature of crimes youths and children committed called for immediate reforms in the juvenile justice system. This essay provides an overview of ...

Juvenile delinquency refers to the antisocial or abnormal legal behavior by minors or adolescents, for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. A delinquent is an individual who often commits crime. Juvenile delinquency is a legal term, which if translated and applied to adults, would be deemed as a criminal offence (Bartollas & Schmalleger, 2010, p 17). In the United States, age limits and definitions of minors differ from state to state. Almost all states have put their age limits to the juvenile offender. Some states have put the age limit to a maximum of 21 years while others have it as low ...