Juvenile Corrections

Most of us are unsettled by juvenile crime for reasons beyond the numbers. Young people represent the future. We expect them to be busy growing up-learning how to become productive citizens and developing skills for a satisfying life. We do not expect them to be committing crimes and ruining the rest of their lives. The objective of this essay is to discuss the division of juvenile corrections: rights and responsibilities of juveniles, juvenile court jurisdiction, and the criminal procedure.

During the earliest times of juvenile justice, the early 1600s, the legal principle of parens patriae was developed. It was a common law principle that allowed the state to assume a parental role and to take custody of a child when he or she became delinquent, abandoned, or was in need of care that the natural parents were unable or unwilling to provide. "The principle held that the king was father of the country and thus had parental rights over all his citizens" (Schmalleger, 2007). By the end of the eighteenth century, social innovations led to a reassessment of the place of children in a society. "In this new age, children were recognized by the only true heirs of the future, and society became increasingly concerned about their well-being") Schmalleger, 2007).

As states implemented innovative programs to handle problem children, researchers began to investigate the causes of juvenile misbehavior. Juvenile delinquency is a juvenile's actions or conduct in violation of criminal law, juvenile status offenses and other misbehavior. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay founded one of the first social science explanations for delinquency, which is known as social ecology. Social ecology is a criminological approach that focuses on the misbehavior of lower-class youth and sees delinquency primarily as the result of social disorganization. "Social disorganization weakened otherwise traditional societal controls, such as family life, church jobs, and schools, making delinquency more likely" (Schmalleger, 2007). The first prevention program was the work of Shaw and McKay and is known as the Chicago Area Project, which began in the 1930s and established self-help neighborhood centers. The centers offered counseling services, educational programs, camps, recreational activities, and discussion groups. The program was designed to reduce social disorganization by bringing members of the community together and providing them with the skills needed for success. The initial juvenile court in the United States was established in Chicago in 1899, more than 100 years ago. During the last 30 years, the juvenile justice system has weathered significant modifications. Aware of juvenile crime in the early 1990s fueled public scrutiny of the system's ability to effectively control violent juvenile offenders. In an effort to crack down on juvenile crime, states have adopted numerous legislative changes in an effort to crack down on juvenile crime.

Juveniles are young and may easily change; they are more susceptible than adults are to the influence of treatment programs. Because the habits of the young are less well formed, they may be more easily altered (Clear, Cole, Reisig, 2006). Juveniles have a high rate of desistance; age is the best predictor of recidivism, the younger the offender, the more likely the offender will fail under community supervision. Juveniles' family play an important role in their lives and the role of family is critical to the success of correctional efforts. Most juveniles are deeply connected to their family whether it is parents or siblings. Should the parents prove incapable of supervision without support from the court, the juvenile would then become a ward of the state. The state then becomes a partner with the family in the efforts to control supervision. With exception, most juvenile crime is committed with their peers whom they are easily influenced by. Many juveniles put on airs in front of their friends. The young gather and socialize which can lead to the testing of their boundaries and challenging each other to try new things. Peer relationships are the most important influences on most youths. Juveniles are only responsible for their own behavior and have little responsibility for others. The major concerns for juveniles should be school performance and behavior. Despite the high success rate of juveniles, even the very young, and a look at those who fail will turn up large numbers whose criminality began at a very early age (Clear, Cole, Reisig, 2006).

There is a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not all of which can be applied to the causes of youth crime. Crime committed by young people has risen since the twentieth century. Most legal systems recommend specific procedures when dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. The assumption on the causes of youth crime is important, firstly because crime is committed disproportionately by those aged between fifteen and twenty-five. Secondly, any theories on the causes of crime will focus on youth crime, as adult criminals will have likely started offending when they were young. A Juvenile Delinquent is one who constantly commits crime; however, these juvenile delinquents could most likely have mental disorders/behavioral issues such as schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder or bipolar disorder.

When dealing with juveniles police exercise discretion and base their decisions on the seriousness of the crime. "Over 70 percent of the juveniles who are arrested by the police are referred to the court. However, many contacts between the police and juveniles are never recorded because the police handle things informally. For offenses such as curfew violations, running away, and trespassing, the police may warn the youth and/or inform the parents. Sometimes police refer juveniles to social-service agencies, a practice called diversion, which removes the juvenile from the juvenile justice system and avoids any negative consequences that might attach to labeling a youth delinquent" ( CliffsNotes.com. A Separate System for Juveniles. 09 Apr 2010).

A central basis of the juvenile court is that juveniles and adults should be treated differently. It is presumed that adolescents have less responsibility for their acts and need security. Therefore, it follows that juveniles should be given less than the full adult penalties for their misconduct. "Judges and other decision makers in the juvenile justice system were encouraged to look beyond a youth's alleged crimes to the best interests of the child. Tailoring decisions to the needs of the individual child led them to base discretionary judgments on social characteristics of offenders such as race, sex, age, family status, and social class. Persons under the age of 18 who violate