The community has been struggling with the efforts to have a proper justice system for youth offenders. It is inevitable that there are a lot of crimes that are perpetuated by youths. Juvenile justice system has been designed to cater their needs. This would include the immediate family of the offender. What is really the essence of juvenile justice system?
The treatment for youth offenders over the years has been changing. In the ancient times, the crimes made by youth are still punishable on the same level with adult’s punishment. This has been contested through civilizations. In the twentieth century, age is a major consideration for appropriate punishment.
It is also undeniable that whenever someone commits crime he is subject to a punishment. However, to consider his age is also another part of the story. The creation of the first juvenile courts has also differentiated “criminals” to “delinquent child”. Based on psychological evidences, juvenile crimes are generally caused by lack of parental care. Moreover, the crime could also be related to child abuse. Thus, it has called the attention of the government to intervene and control such juvenile crimes.
It is practical to separate the case for young offenders to adults. By this, government operated agencies could study the related acts made by juveniles. Psychiatrist and other medical agencies can also help in studying what would be the underlying cause of the crime.
Based on a report by the U.S Department of Commerce about 25 percent of the American Population is under the age of 18. This number is also expected to bloom by the year 2020. These reports suggest that a large number of crimes involving juveniles may happen in the near future. There are also reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2002 that about 1. 5 million youths has been arrested. Additionally, about 700,000 of them are part of a street gang. This could increase in the next following years. That is of course if no one has given proper intervention (Greenwood 1-9).
The Juvenile Justice system in America has been established 100 years ago. The main goal of the system is to prevent destructive punishments to the youth by courts and also to create rehabilitation programs for them. The crimes or cases involving youth offenders would be directly handled by juvenile courts. Investigation as well as rehabilitation goes hand in hand in the process. The court will investigate the background of the youth. The action plan would then be in accordance to the findings of the investigation. But it is guaranteed that the offender would be safe from severe punishments from normal courts. The juvenile proceedings are also held in private. This is to prevent any mental damage to the offender (Lemmer, n.p.). Eventually, this would also give them the chance to be rehabilitated and to be reintroduced to the society as normal. Then what are the methods for juvenile system proceedings? And how it can reduce the crimes in our communities?
There are a lot of methods involve in the justice system. This is incorporated to save young lives as well as to prevent the increase of crime in the community. Now, the discussion of what is the major cause of delinquent crimes is a subject with high importance.
The research that has been done on this field of justice enables the US government to create the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The OJJDP has a strategic plan named the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. The program helps the younger population to recuperate from their old unwanted behaviors as well as giving the public the right to safety.
The council and the main directors of the program have encouraged working on together with the citizens and their objective is to suppress youth violence. There are eight main objectives of the program that would allow the offenders to be regulated. That is (1) prosecution of serious juvenile crimes, (2) rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, (3) reduction of youth involvement with guns, drugs and gangs, (4) addressing youth abuse and victimization to break violence cycle, (5) Mobilization and strengthening of communities, (6) Research and Evaluation support will be conducted, and lastly (7) Implementation of public campaign against youth violence in an aggressive manner (Ingersoll, n.p.).
This would provide proper sanctions and disciplinary action to delinquent juveniles. This would also allow the offenders to have access to treatment and rehabilitation. It is also inevitable that there are serious crimes that are beyond the scope of the OJJDP. Thus, prosecution through criminal courts will be given to serious and chronic juvenile crimes. Prosecution of serious crimes would also entail an idea to youth that they are not safe from the law. This is also to avoid youth to commit the same crime over and over again thinking that they are protected by the juvenile court (Ramirez, n.p.).
The council also promotes the reduction of gun involvement between street gangs. The OJJDP have also partnered with other third party agencies that would reinforce law inside the community. Moreover, drug abuse awareness seminars are conducted intensively within various communities. The Race against Drugs Program is one of the aggressive combat to drug abuse among youths. The OJJDP has partnered with Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S Navy. This program also allows small communities to receive seminar against drug abuse and it includes churches as well.
It is also important to create opportunities for the youths. This would also allow them to concentrate more on livelihood rather than joining gangs. Remedial education as well as Vocational trainings allows many young people to develop their skills. Interchangeably, this would divert their attention to drugs. It is also noteworthy that the DOJ has funded the youth training professional opportunities. This would also open the door for new corporate or professional venture a teenager may take.
It is essential that the over-all aspect by which a teenager can avoid practicing delinquent crimes must be attended. Peer support as well as parental seminars was also done. This would give the parents to support their children and monitor them on what they are doing. In Minnesota, there is a special collaboration with the local police and the families in the community that discussed about Offender monitoring and Victim Support (U.S DOJ 3-5).
It may not be a smooth process but the existence of juvenile justice system would definitely decrease the crimes made by teenagers. It is also essential that the support must be guaranteed from the family of the victim or the offender to create a synergy of rehabilitation. The education of a child starts from their home and whatever they can experience on their homes would also be the reflection of their tendencies. The juvenile justice system is there to help the family and the offender as well to recuperate and to still have the chance of living a normal life. Consequently, it will reduce the crime in our communities.
Work Cited
Lemmer, Thomas. "Reducing Crime through Juvenile Delinquency Intervention." Police Chief Magazine. N.p., 2016. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.
Greenwood, Peter. "Prevention and Intervention Programs for Juvenile Offenders." Princeton University - Home. Pp. 1-9., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.
Ramirez, Florencio. "Juvenile Delinquency Current Issues, Best Practices, and Promising Approaches." American Bar Association. GPSOLO MAGAZINE, 2008. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.
Ingersoll, Sarag. "The National Juvenile Justice Action Plan: A Comprehensive Response to a Critical Challenge." Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.
