Juvenile Justice Florida

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the issue of juvenile crimes. According to the paper, it appears to be that the states imposing the harshest punishments and consequences for juvenile crimes also have the highest crime and recidivism rates for the very juvenile offenders that they are attempting to rehabilitate. Florida is an example of such a state.

From the Paper:

"Another state-specific problem relating to the juvenile justice situation in Florida is the seriousness of offenses for which juveniles are transferred to the adult justice system. According to Macallair (2000), 28% of these youths were charged with violent offenses. The rest were charged only with minor offenses. The harshness of punishment in such cases appears to be disproportional to the crime. Indeed, Macallair states that the system was originally implemented to target the "worst of the worst". This does not appear to be the case in reality.
A further problem specific to Florida entails the disproportionate representation of race in cases transferred to the adult court system. According to Macallair's report, African American youths are 2.3 times more likely than their white counterparts to be transferred to the adult court system. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Building Blocks for Youth. (2001). Fact Sheet: Florida's experience with Trying Juveniles as Adults. http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/issues/transfer/facts_florida.html
• Frontline. (2000) "Does treating kids like adults make a difference?" Juvenile Justice. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/kidslikeadults.html
• Griffin, Patrick. Oct. 2003. "Trying and sentencing juveniles as adults: An analysis of state transfer and blended sentencing laws." Technical Assitance to the Juvenile Court: Special Project Bulletin. http://www.nicic.org/Library/019650
• Jones, Greg & Connelly, Michael. 2001. "Prison vs. Alternative Sanctions: Trying to Compare Recidivism Rates". State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy. http://www.msccsp.org/publications/altrecid.html
• Macallair, Daniel. 2002. "The Florida Experiment: An Analysis of the Practice of Sending Kids to Adult Court". Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. http://www.cjcj.org/pubs/florida/florida.html

More papers on Juvenile Justice Florida:

• Research Paper # 108175 : "Department of Juvenile Justice"
• Research Paper # 91965 : "Florida's 10-20-Life Laws "
• Research Paper # 91994 : "Gun Laws and Mandatory Sentencing"

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