The juvenile justice organization is rooted in the normal criminal justice organization. The major objective of a juvenile court might be different from the criminal court; however, the procedures have resemblance in application. The organizations are anchored in shielding society and seizing criminals responsible for their deeds.
Once a juvenile, in this case Colleen M, goes into the juvenile justice structure, she goes through the intake procedure, detention, adjudication, disposition and aftercare (Scholte, 2002). The initial stage is intake. The intake procedure is also recognized as prosecution in the adult courts. In this stage, the court or prosecutor establishes whether to prosecute the case in juvenile court. Factors looked at this stage include; the proof of the crime, the gravity of the crime, the delinquent’s preceding unlawful and court history and the success of rehabilitation appraisals of the juvenile. Rooted in societal and legal results, the case might be discharged, taken care of off the record or an official trial may be applied for. All through the intake processing or before an official disposition, the youth might be put in a detention facility. Detention may lengthen to the official trial, or after adjudication.
Once at the formal hearing phase, the prosecutor can put forward a waiver or a delinquency petition. Once a determination is made, the juvenile might either remain in juvenile court or is moved to the criminal court. If she stays in juvenile court, an adjudication hearing occurs. A determination is made anchored in the proof offered. If the juvenile is adjudicated as felonious, the disposition hearing occurs. In the disposition hearing, probation proposals or a disposition plan is considered. A prosecutor and delinquent might as well present any concurrence reached for the judge’s consideration. The disposition verdict is derived from the plans. They could have a multiplicity of conditions, for instance restitution, detention facility imprisonment, and counsel or community service. Dependent on the state, the juvenile might as well undergo rehabilitation in a juvenile correctional facility. If this occurs, aftercare (alike parole) will be compulsory after release (Steinberg, 2006).
Juvenile corrections means amenities wherein minors condemned of a crime expend time to facilitate reception of rehabilitation. This aids in providing Colleen M with an opportunity to learn fresh coping and social dexterities to enhanced husbandry of circumstances and circumvent being repeat delinquents. The unsurpassed juvenile corrections amenities focus not merely on punishing or confining inmates, however also in enlightening and mentoring them.
Mentoring and counseling are also components of juvenile corrections amenities. Authorities develop relations with the minors while counselors and therapists assist ascertain the fundamental reasons for their conducts. Most conducts are usually attributed to some sort of emotional distress (Loeber & Hay 2004).
This rehabilitation procedure is paramount especially when provided at the correct time. This can stop Colleen M from taking part in criminal behavior. Time and technique are two main areas in this course of rehabilitation. It is dependant on age, gender, gravity of offense punishment, risk assessment and the delinquent. The rehabilitation program is planned in a way that the juvenile feels that she is learning. The time of rehabilitation program given to an offender is usually highly dependant on the risk assessment of the delinquent. That is why it is paramount for a delinquent to be assessed first.
Every state has its own risk assessment for juvenile delinquents (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1999). These evaluations aid the juvenile justice system in deciding appropriate reprimand and rehabilitation the juvenile should go through. For the purpose of this paper, we will assess the Colleen M risk assessment case study employing the Missouri as well as Washington Risk Assessment criteria. Following the Colleen M’s case, the fifteen year old Caucasian girl, it is discovered that she posses a bad-temper to the point that an extremely small occurrence in her environs stimulates her anger as she loses her tolerance and acts in a dangerous manner. She is so affected by her adverse setting that she began responding in a manner which leads to the harm of people around her. Assessing her through Missouri Risk Assessment criteria we discover some significant data about her like child abuse history, assault referrals, placement history, age during her first referrals, and peer affiliation. Dependent on these data essential procedures like appropriate adjudication, counseling, psychological treatments, are provided, in order that her tribulations are resolved.
Assessment via Washington State Juvenile Court Pre-Screen risk Management criteria, it is evident that she has a poor school enrolment status; we as well discover her conduct towards other individuals present within her school as below par and principally we find out that her academic performance is wanting especially within the most current school terms.
Therefore following Colleen scores on the risk assessments, it is highly probable that she could be sent to a juvenile detention facility. She is a time bomb waiting to explode and the explosion could be irreparable.
The best correction plan in this instance is to report to corrections for a violent offender. The offence may be indirect or coincidence, but the fact is that Colleen needs help. She is a run-away, a drug user, and an unpredictable individual. She has committed murder twice and the chance for her committing more murders is high. She should be detained and accorded all rehabilitation options like counseling, monitoring and education.
References
Federal Bureau of Investigation (1999). Crime in the United States: Uniform crime reports. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
Loeber R. & Hay D. F. (2004). Developmental approaches to aggression and conduct problems. In Development through life: A handbook for clinicians Oxford England: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Scholte E. M. (2002)Identification of children at risk at the police station and the prevention of delinquency.
Steinberg L. (2006)Psychiatry: Interpersonal and biological processes. 4Adolescence (4th Ed.).). New York: McGraw-Hill.
