Accountability and rehabilitation. These are the core objectives of the juvenile probation system today. In early America, children who committed crimes were either simply placed back into the community where they would recommit or they were placed in jails with adults. Since children are mentally, emotionally and developmentally different than adults, there was a significant need for change for these children. Today, juvenile probation is the most common disposition for children adjudicated in the juvenile justice system as delinquent. The “workhorse of the juvenile justice system” is a term that has been given to the juvenile probation system in America. It has also been defined as the cornerstone of the juvenile justice system. As such, the juvenile probation system is an important component of the justice system in the United States.
The focus of the juvenile probation system must be on accountability, and rehabilitating the juvenile so that he or she may become law-abiding citizens . Juveniles who are placed on probation through the juvenile justice system are typically under-educated and come from low-income homes. Many of these juveniles have done poorly in school and have poor school attendance. Often times, the juvenile has mental health as well as physical health issues that have not been addressed. In their families, there is typically a history of stress, crime, “poor parental supervision and poor parent-child relations” . The juvenile probation system must be different than adult probation as juveniles are physically and cognitively different. Juveniles have unfinished social emotional and moral development, and most importantly, they have the potential and capacity for change and growth. Through the juvenile probation system, juveniles are given opportunity to develop and practice skills to become valued members of society and a chance to address the behavior problems that got them into trouble in the first place.
In early America, children over the age of seven who committed crimes were punished the same as adult criminals. Many children were either not punished for their crimes, or forced to sit in jails with adult criminals. If the children we not punished, they would return to the same lifestyle that got them in trouble. If they were sent to prison with adults, they learned to become craftier at their crimes as they acquired the knowledge and habits of the older criminals. These are the reasons that the juvenile probation system came into existence before the juvenile justice system. As there were no courts or jails that addressed juvenile offenders, there was a desire to keep children who committed crimes out of the adult prison system. One man, John Augustus, began bailing children out of jail in the mid 1800’s as a means to keep them out of adult jails. Augustus would ask the court to continue a child’s case and have the child promise to behave while he would help him. Augustus labeled what he did as a period of probation and volunteered his time to rehabilitate the children. He would conduct pre-sentence investigations, provide the children with conditions of supervision, deliver reports to the court, and included revocation as a condition of violation of the terms. This system of probation was the beginning of what we know today as the juvenile probation system.
Today, many of the tasks performed by Augustus remain important duties of the juvenile probation system. Typical duties of the probation system include screening, investigating and supervising. Juvenile probation offices throughout the states perform intake screenings of cases in juvenile court. The majority of juvenile cases that are served by the juvenile probation system are property offenses, drug offenses and public order offenses . The intake screenings serve to place a direction on a child’s case as it enters the juvenile court system. Juvenile probation offices also investigate juvenile cases either prior to disposition or prior to sentencing of juvenile. These investigations help the judge determine the disposition of the case. And, most importantly, juvenile probation offices supervise juveniles that are sentenced to probation by the juvenile court. Probation sentences have various requirements and conditions that are placed upon the juvenile.
The juvenile that is placed on probation remains in his or her community and continues normal activites. The juvenile lives at home and continues to go to school. The juvenile must comply with conditions of probation which are intended to hold the juvenile accountable and keep the community safe. Probation conditions may include “drug testing, counseling, weekend confinement, day reporting, community service or restitution” If the juvenile does not comply with all the conditions, he or she may have probation revoked, an increase in conditions, or other sanctions that could be harsher. If probation is revoked, the juvenile may face detention.
The juvenile probation system plays a role at many stages of the juvenile justice system. As such, the juvenile probation system is an important component of the justice system in the United States. The probation system can be used to monitor children that are at-risk in order to deter them from future involvement in crime. The probation system may be a form of punishment for juveniles who have been adjudicated in juvenile court. And, the probation system can also be used to deter juveniles who are status offenders or first time offenders from being involved in the juvenile justice court system. For these reasons, the juvenile probation system is the cornerstone of the juvenile justice system.
Works Cited
Griffin, Patrick and Patricia Torbet. Desktop Guide to Good Juvenile Probation Practice. National Center for Juvenile Justice, 2002. Print.
Jones, Michael A., Pamela A. Clark and Ronald J. Quiros. "Juvenile Probation and Mentoring." n.d. <http://www.globalyouthjustice.org/uploads/Juvenile_Probation_and_Mentoring_TA.pdf
Juvenile Justice System Structure & Process. 2016. <http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/structure_process/>.
Kurlychek, Megan, Patricia Torbet and Melanie Bozynski. "Focus on Accountability: Best Practices for Juvenile Court and Probation." JAIBG Bulletin (1999). Print.
McFall Torbet, Patricia. "Juvenile Probation: The Workhorse of the Juvenile Justice System." Juvenile Justice Bulletin (1996): March.
