Juvenile justice system

Introduction

Juvenile justice system has being criticized where some argues that young people who commit serious crimes should be treated as adults as they appear old enough to commit crime.  However, subjecting the young people in adult system can contributes to much more harm on them than good. Juvenile system is enough to serve the purpose of holding young people accountable for serious crimes they commit. Theses: Juveniles are still minors, thus cannot be viewed as adults as they are more impulsive, less mature and responsible, changeable and are highly susceptible to negative peer pressure. Young people are still work in progress thus rules should not be changed when they do bad things. This paper highlights the reasons why the juveniles commit various types of crimes .It also addresses the question on whether the juveniles should be tried as adults and whether it’s beneficial to the overall court system.

Reasons why juveniles commit various crimes

Juveniles tend to commit crimes due to various risk factors when they were younger which includes repeated exposure to violence, poverty, easy access to firearms, drugs, wrong peer groups, media violence, family violence as well as unstable family life. Young people who are subjected to child abuse are likely to have high level of aggression and antisocial behavior. Childhood Long-term exposure television is a core factor behind many of the homicides committed by young people in the United States. Substantial exposure to television violence results to aggressive behavior, violence and crime in the society. Increased accessibility and availability of guns has increased the number of homicides committed by juveniles. Possession of firearms and witnessing multiple murders as well as other act of violence has accelerated juvenile crimes. High level of poverty and unstable family have increased the rate of juvenile robbery cases .Petty crimes among the juveniles are stimulated by negative peer pressure and drugs. Schools also plays a huge role in generating juvenile violence due to involvement in delinquent peer groups.

Whether Juveniles should be treated as adults

The juvenile system was established to handle juvenile convicts based on their young age rather than the crime committed. The main reason for juvenile court is rehabilitation, guidance and treatment rather than punishment. For the last decades the public has raised concerns in going tough on juveniles and handling them as adults. Many states had hence changed the laws making it easier to try juveniles offenders as adults with some considering abolishing juvenile courts. This arguments are based on the critics that the juvenile system is instituted on false premises as its aims at protecting the juveniles from the consequences of their individual deeds and that it fails to deter juvenile violence. Some argues that current juvenile crime problems demands punishment on juvenile offenders in efforts to deter the next generation of juveniles from becoming killers. While others argues that justice stresses that juvenile courts be abolished, trying juveniles in adult’s courts they will still be afforded their full arrangement o constitutional rights. On the other hand arguments refuting abolishment of the juvenile courts states that the step will only make things worse. This arguments supports that the premises of the juvenile courts are sound as the young people are not yet fully matured thus they shouldn’t be apprehended to the similar standard of accountability like adults. The other argument is centered on the aim of juvenile system which is to treat and not to deter. Some argues that changing the social environment in the juveniles resides as a more efficient way of reducing juvenile violence rather than considering punishing the juvenile offenders in adults’ courts. In other case juvenile courts are preferably better as their mission is of goodwill in serving the best interest of young people.in some state like Tennessee children as young as 10 has been charged as adults. There is no lowest age for being subjected to criminal courts for certain crimes. However this kind of treatment can result to harsh consequences as most juveniles do not commit adults’ crimes but when punished as adults the likelihood of them committing more crimes after being free increases. Also their employment and educational prospects deteriorate generating opportunities and incentives for more crimes as they are often stigmatized .juvenile systems assists in mitigating such harm.

In some circumstances juveniles should however be treated as adults in order stop more juveniles from committing fierce crimes and to offer justice to victims and affected families. Without harsh disciplinary system, the society is left with a higher percentage of delinquents and accelerating percentage of juvenile crime victims where children are killed by children’s and teens by teens. The United States must therefore held the juvenile crimes accountable .trying the minors like adult will assist in toughening the system by holding individual responsible. Making minors full responsible of their crimes in United States and publicizing the our cities will indeed be tough on crimes will act as a threat on kids which will always make them have a second thought before committing a violence. In efforts to reduce violent crimes committed by young people major reforms in the justice system has being done in England and Wares: The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 where kids aged 10 and kids as young as 8 years in Scotland are now regarded as criminally responsible for their actions as adults.

Advantages of juvenile being tried as adults

Trying juveniles as adults helps in bringing justice for extreme crime committed. Despite juveniles being considered as children they should be able to distinguish between wrong and right. Victims of juvenile offences for instance murder cases deserve justice done to them and their families’ members. Subjecting juveniles in adult court system is more advantageous as juvenile courts mainly focuses on the age of the offender rather the nature of the crime they committed. Increased rise of number of crimes committed by young people in the past few years have raised the concern of treating the juveniles as adults in adults court system. This is due to the fact that many of juvenile offenders are aware of the juvenile systems and thus tend to take advantage of the situation. Juvenile courts in other cases lack a jury and hence offenders are not subjected to proper trial. Treating juveniles as adults will help to instill moral compass in teenagers thus helping their mental maturity to begin much earlier.

Conclusion

Young offenders should be subjected to juvenile courts as being convicted in adult courts results to much more destruction rather than training them. By putting them in adult system we throw away even the glimmer in them which is not the case in juvenile system where the minors are protected from danger, shaped, rehabilitated and possibly transformed to better persons in future.