Juvenile Courts

Introduction

A juvenile court is a body given the authority to pass judgment for crimes committed by children. It also deals with underage persons who have been neglected and protecting the rights of children. Juvenile crime is an unlawful act committed by a person who is below the age of 18 years and is referred to as a minor.

According to Riviera (2018), common juvenile crimes are underage drinking, shoplifting, vandalism, minor assaults, and possession of drugs. Most of these crimes involve crimes committed for the first time and are less serious. The juvenile justice system offers rehabilitation to juvenile offenders rather than punish them. Another alternative for them is participating in community work, and paying criminal fines rather than serve jail terms. They are also involved in counseling sessions and probation programs. Some juvenile offenders engage themselves in serious crimes and sometimes have to be tried as adults. These serious crimes include homicide, major theft, and rape.

Feld (2017) explains the intersection of the two sections of juvenile courts which are youth policy and crime policy. The policies for justice in juvenile courts have brought different views about children, how to control crime, gender, and race and the proper ways to address children’s crime. Some juvenile reformers believe that children should be rehabilitated rather than be punished. Others believe that they should go to court and learn the consequences of their crimes. Substantive law is a set of rules that govern how members of a society are supposed to behave. Procedural law refers to rules that are used to enforce the law. The laws help to guide the process to be used to intervene when a child breaks the law.

Dowd (2015) explains that status, background, and race can determine the rule that will be made for you in court after committing a crime. A child who comes from an able family will be charged differently from one who is from a poor background.  The one from the rich family might even escape being charged with the crime or it may be taken lightly. This shows how a social class can be effective and the kind of unfairness that exists in the juvenile system. Just because you can afford to pay for crimes committed you can be scot-free. A child from a low-income family is likely to be charged with a crime and this will probably become worse and make an impact throughout your life. The juvenile justice system makes things worse for these children, and instead of helping them to change their behaviors, the system bases their jurisdiction on race and the financial capability of a family. The system does not guide the children on the ways to stay away from crime or how to go back on the right track if one has already committed a crime. This means that the system does not serve the society the way it is supposed to.

According to Dowd (2015), the most unlucky children are children with disabilities and kids of color more so if their parents have a low income. Their families and parents suffer the most because their children have to go through the unfair system. It has been criticized by many including the prosecutors and the judges as a failed system. Strategies and programs need to be developed to help in improving the juvenile system. The aims of the new system should be to assist and serve the children, give them opportunities to be successful even in their future. It should be able to find solutions and address the situations and serve the public fairly. Children must be held accountable when they break the law but putting them back on track should be done the right way. This will make the child listen and learn and not rebel. The new system will aim at reducing the number of children that are locked up by treating every family equally. Development of positive programs and opportunities for children to offer guidance, support, and rehabilitation.

Juvenile Justice (2015) states that the justice system available for adults is not suitable for juveniles or anyone including parents and guardians, social workers, or voluntary organizations. Some proposals have been made to make the juvenile system appreciate the developmental needs of a child. Making juvenile law consider the rights of a child is an implementation that needs to be adhered to. A uniform age of 18 years for both boys and girls should be followed and principles to be used for providing justice to the children in the proposed bill. Voluntary organizations and social workers should be involved in the juvenile system. Training the authorities on handling juvenile cases to have a humane approach to juvenile offenders. Developing child welfare boards and programs that are easily accessible for the children. There should be a separation in handling cases of the offenders and the children that need to be cared for and protected. Different rehabilitation methods such as foster care, sponsoring the poor and abandoned children should be provided. A juvenile case should be presented before the board as soon as possible.

The Juvenile Justice (2015), explains that the juvenile system should give the child a right to be heard. The child’s explanation and opinions should be listened to and before the judgments are made. The offender’s case should be judged with their best interest being considered. There should be no discrimination against juvenile offenders based on gender, family background, race, religion, social status among others. Every child and their family should be treated equally. The children who come to conflict with the law should have a right to privacy and confidentiality. The juvenile offenders should have a right to reunite with their families and continue with their lives just as they did before going against the law. They should be allowed to start afresh and their records should be removed from the system. This will enable them to move forward with their lives and not dwell in the past. These rights will allow them to reflect on their previous mistakes and keep them focused.

According to Khron &Lane (2015), strategies that need to be put in the justice system include behavior therapy and having a teen court.  A program that focuses on learning the strategies of being accountable and stopping abusive behavior and taking full responsibility for your actions. Specific gender services should be provided since the needs and problems of girls and boys are different. This is important so that they could all be treated according to the state of their emotions. The mental health needs of juvenile offenders should be addressed because when some of them get into these distressing events get traumatized. After all, some of them are not mentally mature to understand what is happening. For substance abuse offenders, reentry courts should be made available. Programs that involve job training opportunities and leisure activities should be implemented to engage the minors and make sure they have no time to engage themselves in committing a crime. These strategies would bring change to the juvenile justice courts and families would know that their children are safe and getting the best corrections for their mistakes.

Conclusion

Juvenile courts need changes in the way the justice system works. Juvenile offenders need policies and strategies that should be followed when they commit a crime or are found on the wrong side of the law. These courts need to train personnel to handle the children or the minors and their cases as well. There should be no favoritism in the systems to ensure that every offender is treated equally and judged correctly according to their crime.

References                                                                                        

Dowd, N. E. (2015). A new juvenile justice system: Total reform for a broken system. New York

University Press

Feld, B. C. (2017). The evolution of the juvenile court: Race, politics, and the criminalizing of

juvenile justice: New York University Press  

Krohn, M. D., & Lane, J. (2015). The handbook of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice:

Chichester, West Sussex, UK Malden, MA Wiley Blackwell