The Juvenile Justice System

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the history of the juvenile justice system, dating back to the 1820s and until the present. The juvenile justice system in dealing with juvenile offenders has cyclically gone from a rehabilitative approach to a punitive approach a number of times since its inception. The writer of this paper contends that in certain cases juvenile criminals should be treated differently than adults who commit the same crimes and supports this claim by detailing eight possible justifications. One justification is that adults are responsible for their acts, whereas juveniles are not. Another justification is that juveniles are more pliable than adults and respond better to treatment and rehabilitation.
This paper also details various research which examines the history of the juvenile justice system from 1820 which found that when juvenile crime is determined to be high, the justice system responds with severe punishments and few rehabilitative approaches. This paper also discusses the current approach to the juvenile justice system and questions its effectiveness in dealing with juvenile offenders.

From the Paper:

"What the models or approaches have neglected up to this point is the importance of the victim and the community, accountability of the offender, and competency development. So far there has been the debate between punishment versus treatment as options, but both have negative side effects and essentially ignore everything else. The need for retribution may be satisfied by punishment, but the offender can be negatively affected. Punishment can undermine self-restraint, stigmatizes the offender and creates problems of adjustment, which encourages delinquency, to name a couple, but it also encourages offenders to focus on themselves, not the victim and their responsibility."

More papers on The Juvenile Justice System:

• Research Paper # 147874 : "The Juvenile Justice System"
• Essay # 39942 : "Minorities within the Juvenile Justice System"
• Term Paper # 92953 : "Edmund Kemper and the Juvenile Justice System"

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