Juvenile Delinquency: Criminal Justice

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Criminal Justice: Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is described as the participation of minors, usually under the legal age of 18, in criminal activities. Cases of juvenile delinquency have increased at an alarming rate in recent years. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, OJJDP (2015), juveniles under the age of 18 are responsible for about 10% of all homicides. In the period between 1990 and 2003, violent crimes by juveniles declined significantly - but after 2003, the previous trend continued and about 30% of murder crimes were attributed to delinquency. Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) incarcerates more than 33000 minors under the age of 18 for different criminal offenses (OJJDP, 2015). The fight against juvenile delinquency is often inconvenienced by recidivism. Recidivism occurs when juvenile offenders relapse back to their criminal ways after they are released from residential care. Majority of juvenile offenders are rearrested within two years of release. This text looks at two cases: Tom who recidivates, and Jennifer - a first time offender, and also explains the process of the juvenile justice system and the possible dispositional outcomes.

First time offenders

In the context of this text, a first time offender is a minor who gets caught engaging in a criminal act for the fast time and who does not own or have a criminal record. It has been argued that the way first time offenders are handled greatly determines if they will go back to criminal acts when released (Burfeind and Bartusch, 2011). When handled with severity, first time offences give law enforcement agencies a chance to reverse habits that may lead to serious crimes in the future and also give the offenders a chance to learn to take responsibility and reform. Siegel and Welsh (2015) refer to this as the specific deterrence theory, which holds that young offenders are less likely to repeat a criminal act if they are punished severely.

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In punishing the juvenile offenders, the National Institute of Justice (2015) states that after considering the age of the offenders, seriousness of the crime and the upbringing of the concerned individual(s) "the juvenile justice system often relies on rehabilitative sanctions and alternatives to detention when dealing with youth, especially nonviolent first-time offenders." Probation is often considered the best community program for low risk first time offenders

I5-year-old Jennifer has been detained by the police for vandalism. Since she is a first time offender, the officer handling the case first obtains information from the victims then decides whether to dismiss it, handle it informally, or formally. Jennifer does not have past criminal record - therefore, this is considered a status offense and probation will be granted. According to the OJJDP (2015), Jennifer will be allowed to go back to her normal life but will be required to comply with certain conditions set by the court and agreed upon under a consent decree. There are usually regular visits between a first time offender and a probation officer, where progress is monitored. Vandalism is not categorized as a severe offence for a first time offender. The disposition in this case, therefore, includes: restitution, where Jennifer pays back for the damage using community service, mandatory school attendance, and participation in rehabilitation programs. If the probation officer is satisfied with Jennifer's progress and ascertains that all the conditions agreed upon by the consent decree have been met, the juvenile case will be dismissed.

Repeat juvenile offender

Repeat offenders are required to have a formal hearing in court. There have been numerous cases where repeat juvenile offenders who engage in violent activities are treated as adult offenders. In fact, Welsh and Siegel (2015) state that approximately 25,000 minors are serving time in adult jails. Depending on the criminal act, the hearing can either take place in a criminal court or a juvenile.....

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