Discuss the history of juvenile justice. How did juveniles acquire rights

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Question 1 

Discuss the history of juvenile justice. How did juveniles acquire rights?

Juvenile justice systems started during 1980s and 1990s in America. This was in response of preventing the youths from being jailed in adults’ courts whereby they were mistreated by the adult offenders. The idea of youth court was introduced by Thomas Eddy and John Griscom who were against the jailing of the youths with adults. These two people organized construction of one court called the New York House of Refuge for rehabilitation and retention of youths who go against the law. After the construction of one jail for the youth, it was followed by other three juvenile systems which housed around 200 juveniles. This idea was implemented and by 1940s more than 20 other juvenile systems were constructed. Juveniles have been witnessed to come from the poor backgrounds whereby their families are unable to support their basic needs. They therefore commit these crimes in search for what they have not been provided with by their parents. The government therefore came in to protect these juveniles from mistreatment by the court and also by the society. Juveniles have young minds and are in adolescence stage whereby they need to be educated. Government policy also protected the children and adolescences whereby they should be handled carefully as they make their decisions under emotional influences. Therefore, Juveniles acquired their rights through the government policy (Hagan, Gillis & Simpson, 2013).

Question 2 

What is the social system theory and is it important when looking at prevention and intervention programs?

Social system theory is a cross disciplinary body which deals with the human behavior and the social environment through scientific thoughts. This theory provides an explanation on how the external and internal factors influence human behaviors. This theory is very important when handling a client because it puts into consideration the influences of the society, organization, individual issues and also other factors contributing to the actions of an individual. When handling an individual, one should consider what effect has caused the offence because one part of system has got an effect to the whole part of the system. During prevention and intervention program, it is important to look the external and internal factors leading to the crime. It is therefore important to prevent the factors in the social environment first and then deal with the client. Social system theory provides an effective way of dealing with the client in the best way possible.

Question 3  

Discuss the adjudication and dispositional alternatives in the juvenile court system.

Adjudication alternative is the action that is taken by the judges towards the juvenile which is determined by the status. This action is taken by the court judges in order to rehabilitate the young individual who has committed the crime. Adjudication alternative determines whether the juvenile has committed the crime and then he or she is charged with the crime. The juvenile is therefore responsible for the charges according to the adjudication alternative. On the other hand, dispositional alternatives are the considerations made by the judges if the juvenile admits his or her crimes. Through the use of dispositional alternatives, the court may decide to use custodial institutions to educate the juveniles. In addition, dispositional alternatives may choose to use community program placement or wilderness program in order to rehabilitate the juveniles.

Question 4 

How does a juvenile progress through the juvenile justice system? Include the intake to trial, disposition and corrections process in your response

There is a particular process through which a juvenile progresses from one part to another. Juvenile justice systems have got several court case processes. The first process a juvenile undergoes after committing a crime is arrest. Other youths may also be detailed in the juvenile systems through their parent’s referrals. When juveniles are put in court, the officers ensure that they are free from sounds of adults. After arrestment, the case is directed to probation department whereby the judge in charges makes the final decisions whether to dismiss or hold the case. Informal disposition is preceded when the juvenile admits to be guilty and is ready to pay the charges. After settling the consent decree, there is formal hearing whereby it is upon the juvenile to make decisions on where the case would be heard either in juvenile system or the criminal court. The juvenile, prosecutor and the disposition officer are therefore given chance to decide on the disposition methods on strategies to be used. The youth is then detailed for rehabilitation until the decisions made by the disposition group are met fully. The progress of the juvenile is supervised through continuous review hearings. After the disposition agreements are met, the juvenile case is therefore terminated (Hagan, Gillis & Simpson, 2013).

    Question 5

What are the roles of the juvenile probation officer, defense attorney and prosecutor? Are these roles effective in meeting the goals of the juvenile system? Why or why not?

Probation officer has a task of supervising the community service workers and also those working in prison sentences. They also supervise the offenders release and in community service. Defense attorney is responsible in criminal cases whereby he should protect the accused through ensuring that her or his interests are treated according to what the court should do. Defense attorney makes follow-up in the court proceedings to ensure that the court acts as it should to the defendant. On the other hand, the prosecutor is the peoples’ representative. The peoples’ rights are represented by the prosecutor against the criminal offender. These different roles are very effective to juvenile systems whereby the rights of each party are represented. This ensures that no one is violated and every process is followed to the latter (Lipsey, 2012).

  Question 6

What is intensive supervised probation? What are important elements of an intensive supervised probation program for juveniles?

This is a process which is aimed to those juveniles in probation whereby their behaviors are put under control through surveillance and strict or intensive supervision. This program addresses the needs of the probationer through different caseloads, random drug testing, electronic monitoring and also behavior controls. The main objective and the goal of this program is to reduce overpopulation in jails and prisons. The program is divided into three phases which include; phase 1 whereby the majority offenders are detailed in a hose monitored electronically for 60 days, phase 2 whereby the offenders monitored for four months through phone calls or home visits by probation officers and contains 9.00pm curfew and also phase 3, it contains curfew for about six months whereby the behavior is monitored through phone calls, office visits and home visits (Jang et al. 2011).

Question 7  

Distinguish between the different waivers the juvenile court system use.

Juvenile court systems have different types of waivers they use. There is prosecutorial waiver used by the court which is the decision of the prosecutor. The prosecutor decides on this waiver to be used on his behalf. Reverse waiver is also used by juvenile court system whereby the court may transfer the claim and make the prosecutor go back to the juvenile court. Blended sentencing waiver enables some courts to impose the juvenile until he joins the adult courts. Statutory waiver is written into the law and no judge has ability to change it. The law chooses the statutory waiver without any input from the judges. The last waiver used by the juvenile court system is the judicial waiver whereby the judge makes or decides the transfers. The judge decides judicial waiver depending on the case (Hagan, Gillis & Simpson, 2013).

Question 8 

What are the various types of custodial facilities for juveniles? How do these facilities differ? In what ways are they similar?

There are various custodial facilities which include custodial care which are equipped with caregivers to assist the juveniles. The nursing of the custodial may take place in custodial care or administered at home. Custodial facilities may also include study rooms which are made clean by the custodial service. There are also faculty offices which are made for different purposes. Labs and restrooms are also custodial facilities whereby the labs rooms are designed for education whereby the restrooms are used for leisure time. The difference between these facilities is the role assigned to each room. For instance, family and community centers are designed for the juveniles to interact and share with their family members. The similarity between the facilities is that they are all made to make the juveniles comfortable and feel free to express their feelings. They are all educative facilities to the custodians (Lipsey, 2012).

Question 9  

Compare and contrast the different components and goals of juvenile corrections.

Juvenile corrections focus on rehabilitating and individual through a justice way. The systems focus on rehabilitating the offenders but not punishing them. The different components of juvenile system include; the law enforcement, the juvenile court and juvenile corrections. During law enforcement, the juvenile is arrested and detained for the case hearing. Juvenile court gives the final decisions according to the evidence provided about the case after thorough research concerning the case. Juvenile corrections therefore, mound the child to be the better person in the community. These different components ensure that the juvenile has passed through these stages so that he can be accountable and responsible for his or her life. Juvenile correction systems goals are effective not only to the juveniles but also to the society and the nation (Jang et al. 2011).

   Question 10  

What are nominal sanctions, juvenile and community-based corrections and custodial sanctions? Are nominal sanctions, juvenile and community-based corrections and custodial sanctions effective in reducing juvenile delinquency? Why or why not?

Nominal sanctions are the places where the juveniles are warned, reprimanded or the wise reproved. In this sanction, others are unconditionally released. Juvenile and community-based corrections are the rehabilitation strategies designed in the community to reduce the number of youth offenders in the juvenile courts while custodial sanctions is a place whereby the juvenile is ordered to be confined according to the standards but in a secure facility. The juvenile can also be ordered to be placed in unsecure facility because of the set standards. These sanctions and community based programs are very effective in reducing the risks of juvenile crimes. They educate, rehabilitate and protect the youths from severe actions which might be caused by their emotions driven by their adolescence stages (Hagan, Gillis & Simpson, 2013).

Question 11  

Discuss the importance of intervention and prevention? Are treatment programs considered intervention or prevention programs?

Intervention and prevention are important processes to a child. They greatly impact to the child’s behavior which may last for a lifelong. Prevention of certain behavior or child abuse protects severe outcomes of that behavior. Intervention and prevention supports the wellbeing of an individual and also cuts the cost which may incur during severe conditions of the victim. Treatment programs are part of prevention programs as they seek to reduce or deter a condition of an individual. Treatment programs focus on establishing the best outcome of an individual (Foster, Qaseem, & Connor, 2004).

Question 12 

There are many theories to juvenile delinquency. Discuss the purpose of these theories and how they forecast delinquent behavior.

Social Darwinism decline led to the rose of sociological behavior theories. These theories explained human behavior whereby it was through the innate characteristics and instincts which were learnt. The criminals were seen as people who have deviated from the culture of the society and he was engaged with other criminals to be studied. The deviant people were then studied by the sociologist in order to derive inferences to further their theories. The criminal behavior was more dominantly in the urban areas and the sociologists concentrated much in this area. They came into a conclusion that the criminal behavior is learnt but not inborn. The behaviors also depict the delinquent personalities whereby many can change if given attention to rehabilitate them. These theories forecast the behavior of a delinquent in that if he or she does not associate with peer youths, there are limited possibilities of that person being a deviant. As young people grow, they should associate with their parents and adults most in order to shape their behaviors (Lipsey, 2012).

References

Lipsey, M. W. (2012). Juvenile delinquency treatment: A meta-analytic inquiry into the variability of effects. Meta-analysis for explanation: A casebook, 83-127.

Foster, E. M., Qaseem, A., & Connor, T. (2004). Can better mental health services reduce the risk of juvenile justice system involvement?. American Journal of Public Health, 94(5), 859-865.

Thornberry, T. P., Lizotte, A. J., Krohn, M. D., Farnworth, M., & Jang, S. J. (2011). Delinquent peers, beliefs, and delinquent behavior: A longitudinal test of interactional theory. Criminology, 32(1), 47-83.

Hagan, J., Gillis, A. R., & Simpson, J. (2013). The class structure of gender and delinquency: Toward a power-control theory of common delinquent behavior. American journal of sociology, 90(6), 1151-1178.