Criminal Justice Paper

Question

Students will utilize readings from context of “Chapter 6: The Juvenile Court” from the textbook “Juvenile Justice in America Seventh Edition” to support their personal opinion and how it relates to the field of criminal justice. DO NOT copy material from the book verbatim. Make sure to use at least 4 sources within the past 8 years and cite each of them. The textbook, Juvenile Justice in America Seventh Edition can be one of the references. THE PAPER MUST INCLUDE: A topic in the textbook and critique the topic
Must clearly show that YOU have researched the topic.
Demonstrate critical thinking about the topic (what are some issues and trends within your topic, any resolutions)
Demonstrate application and/or creativity of current events within the content of the paper
Must be at least 3 full pages not including cover page or reference page. (APA format) WITHIN THE PAPER: Briefly describe the topic and how it relates to current trends and issues
How it relates to the theories of criminal justice
And strategies used for controlling crime
Your own perspective of effective resolutions

Answer

Juvenile Justice Research Paper

Contents

Introduction. 2

Overview of Juvenile Justice. 2

How Juvenile Justice Relates to the Theories of Criminal Justice. 3

Strategies Used for Controlling Juvenile Crime. 4

Effective Solutions to Juvenile Delinquency. 4

Conclusion. 5

References. 6

Introduction

The number of children and youths coming into contact with the juvenile justice system has been fluctuating over the years. Saminsky (2010) posits that all people living in the US are affected by juvenile crime either as parents, teachers, victims, bystanders, and neighbors. Amongst the causes cited for juvenile delinquency include family issues ranging from psychological, economic, social and moral. This has led to calls for concerted efforts at local and international levels aimed at managing the situation. This paper provides insights about juvenile justice by looking at current trends, its relation to criminal justice theories, strategies used for controlling juvenile crime and effective solutions that would address the situation.

Overview of Juvenile Justice

            Since the creation of man, young people have been engaging in lawbreaking activities such as crime and drug abuse. Owing to the prevailing national laws, members of the criminal justice system have devised ways of addressing juvenile delinquency by ensuring that they are treated differently and separately from adults resulting in the establishment of juvenile courts (Bartollas and Miller, 2014). According to Goldson and Muncie (2012), various global policies regarding juvenile justice have been initiated by world bodies such as the United Nations and are increasingly becoming widely accepted. For instance, the United Nations General Assembly proposed that no young person or child should be subjected to degrading or harsh punishment. Close home, Roberson (2010) states that all but four states in the US treat youths below 18 years as juvenile offenders.

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            Juvenile courts have been put in place with the mandate of dealing with under-age offenders who are neglected, charged with offenses or cannot be controlled by their parents. Umbreit and Armour (2011) point out that juvenile justice revolves around criminal justice and restorative justice with a bias towards the latter. The American Juvenile Justice has seen the legislation of various reforms over the years. For instance, according to the National Conference of State legislatures (2015), the late 1980s and early 1990s saw several state reforms that tried to hold juvenile delinquents accountable through adult conviction options. The situation has however changed as states continue to reconsider their policies and rebalance their approaches to juvenile justice to result in more efficient reactions to juvenile crime and improve the justice system in general.

            As a result of these reforms, there have been numerous trends in juvenile management that include diverting youths from the juvenile justice systems, reinstate jurisdiction of juvenile cases to juvenile courts, reform detention, offer strong public defense for juvenile offenders, improve reintegration and aftercare programs for juvenile offenders, respond to juvenile offenders’ mental needs and shift resources to community-based initiative from incarceration.

How Juvenile Justice Relates to the Theories of Criminal Justice

            Juvenile justice relates to criminal justice theories in the sense that juvenile justice can be explained using criminal justice theories. Like criminal justice (adult justice), juvenile justice can be understood with psychological theories in the sense that their behavior reflects the people they interact with. As such, juvenile justice is similar to the criminal justice system, the only major difference being in terms of age thus calling for preferential treatment of juvenile offenders.

Strategies Used for Controlling Juvenile Crime

Numerous strategies have been put in place with the aim of controlling juvenile crime. According to Saminsky (2010), they may be classified based on the time of implementation. Some approaches such as conviction and home placement occur after a youth or child is found to be delinquent and tend to be less efficient because antisocial behaviors are normally developed by that point. Preventive programs that are implemented before the child assumes delinquent behavior aiming at preventing them tend to be highly efficient. Currently, Head Start and home visitation programs are being implemented to deter crime by focusing on shaping the children. According to the National Institute of Justice (n.d), several strategies have been put in place, for example, interventions targeting the street youths and school-based programs aimed at preventing bullying and sexual offenses as well as promote social and emotional learning.

Effective Solutions to Juvenile Delinquency

            There are numerous ways of addressing the problem of juvenile delinquency largely focusing on the family unit. For instance, parents need to establish friendly and healthy relationships with their children so that they can offer them with the much-needed advice of becoming responsible citizens. There is also a need for role models in the society who can mold youth and children through motivational talks and engage them in activities that deter them from participating in the crime. While educational and religious institutions have a vital role to play in raising morally upright youths, the buck stops largely with the families. Parents need to protect their children from abusive relationships at home and foster loving relationships. This will go a long way in influencing the personality development of their children.

Conclusion

            The issue of juvenile delinquency cuts across all societies as children and youths are increasingly engage in crime. With increased technological advancement, globalization and the socio-economic challenges facing the world, the rate of juvenile delinquency is bound to increase. Parents are increasingly neglecting their parenting roles through the prioritization of career growth and the pursuit of economic opportunities, meaning that many children grow up unattended. To avert a major crisis, it is important that parents be encouraged to take parenting roles more seriously. As states and global agencies reform the juvenile justice system, there is a need for proactive and preventive approaches that will detect possible delinquents and mold them to become upright citizens. Therefore, I do concur with Vafa’s (2016) view that jailing vulnerable youth for status crimes does not alleviate the situation; rather, it only serves to punish as opposed to rehabilitate them.

References

Bartollas, C. & Miller, S. (2014). Juvenile Justice in America (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson

Goldson, B. & Muncie, J. (2012).Towards a global ‘child-friendly’ juvenile justice?             International Journal of Law, Crime, and Justice, 40(1):47-64.

National Conference of State Legislatures. (2015). Trends in Juvenile Justice State Legislation      2011-2015. Web.

National Institute of Justice. (n.d.)Juveniles: Delinquency Prevention. Web.

Roberson, C. (2010). Juvenile Justice: Theory and Practice. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Saminsky, A. (2010). Preventing Juvenile Delinquency: Early Intervention and             Comprehensiveness as Critical Factors. Inquiries Journal, 2(2):1-2. Web.

Umbreit, M. & Armour, M. (2011). Restorative Justice and Dialogue: Impact, Opportunities,             and Challenges in the Global Community. Washington University Journal of Law and          Policy, 36(65).

Vafa, Y. (2016). Jailing vulnerable youth for status offenses helps no one. Huffington Post.    Web.

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