Chapter 12 Juvenile Justice Youth Crime in the United States Violent juvenile crime incidents are rare but are growing Youth crimes range from UCR index crimes rape murder robbery assault to youthful crimes like loitering breaking curfew etc Led some to consider the impact of enterainment technology on behavior Reasons why there has been an epidemic of violent crime post 1990 o Lured into the drug trade o Increase in gun carrying and use by youths The Development of Juvenile Justice History of American Juvenile Justice Idea that children should be treated differently from adults originated in the common law and the chancery courts of England o Children under 7 were incapable of understanding felonious activity and children 7 14 could be held accountable only if it could be shown that they understood the consequences of their actions o Parens patriae the tstate as parent the state as guardian and protector of all citizens such as juveniles who cannot protect themselves The Puritan Period 1646 1824 English procedures were maintained o Puritans of Masachusetts emphasized the need of child disipline and law dealth with those who wouldn t obey parents The Refuge Period 1824 1899 reformers focused their efforts on poor immigrant urban youth o House of Refuge in New York half prison and half school housed destitute and orphaned children as well as those convicted of crime Many others facilities like this in other cities Normally forced by court order to stay there and left when they were considered adults o Many reform schools in northern states which provided a homelike atmosphere to poor youth also gave education and discipline o CJ process was still the same for kids and adults alike Juvenile Court Period 1899 1960 o Problem of Juvenile criminality became focus of attention o Child Savers upper middle class reformers who sought to use the power of the state to save kids from a life of crime o Establishment of separate court for juveniles was established in 1899 by Juvenile Court Act in 1899 Cases of delinquency under one jurisdiction under 16 A separate Court for delinquent dependent and neglected children the adult system Special legal procedures that were less adversarial than those in Separation of children from adults in the CJS Programs of probation to assist the courts in deciding what best served the interests of the state and the child Juvenile Rights Period 1960 1980 o Juvenile Courts promoted by settlement house movement nad by 1917 all but three states had juvenile courts o Belief that state should deal with a child who broke the law and they have the ability to be cured Lawyers were not used and instead psychologists and social workers were main professional who sought to find the underlying behavioral problem Children lacked due process rights o In re Gault 1967 juveniles have the right to have counsel to confront and examine accusers cross examination and to have adequate notice of charges when confinement is a possible punishment o In re Winship 1970 the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt applies to juvenile delinquency proceedings o Mckeiver v Pennsylvania 1971 juveniles do not have the constitutional right to a trial by jury o Breed v Jones 1975 juveniles cannot be found delinquent in juvenile court and then transferred to adult court without a hearing on the transfer to do so violates the protection of double jeopardy o Status Offense any act committed by a juvenile that is considered unacceptable for a child such as truancy or running away from home but that would not be a crime if it were committed by an adult o crackdown on crime tougher policies o Schall v Martin 1984 juveniles can be held in preventive detention if there is concern that they may commit additional crimes while awaiting court action o A change in the system lawyers are routinely present throughout the process adding a note of formality Seldom end up in training schools anymore o Tougher stance towards older adolescents Crime Control Period 1980 now o Upper age limit for a juvenile varies from 16 18 IN 38 states and DC it s the 18th birthday in 8 states it s the 17th and in the remainder it s the 16th o In 49 sates judges have discretion to transfer juveniles to adult courts through waiver hearing Categories of Cases o Delinquent a child who has committed an act that if committed by an adult would be considered criminal o PINS Persons In Need of Supervision a term that designates juveniles who are either status offenders or thought to be on the verge of trouble o Neglected child a child who is not receiving proper care because of some action or inaction of his or her parents The Juvenile Justice System Age of Clients o Dependent Child a child who has no parent of guardian or whose parents cannot give proper care Juvenile Justice Process Philosophy that CJS and its members must be primarily concerned with the interests o f the child Exchange relationships b t court officials parents social workers psychologists etc to diagnose the problem and find the right treatment Police Interface o Many departments have special juvenile units Trained to relate to youths serves as a link b t the police and other community institutions such as schools Also known as resource officers who provide counseling and security presence in schools o Police use enormous amount of discretion on whether to take the child into custody detain him and or refer him to court Decisions influenced by predominant attitude of community officers attitude towards child child s family and the offense Must seek to satisfy complainant and keep the youth from Intake screening at the court future trouble o Court processing begins with a referral in the form of a petition o Once it is filed then an intake hearing is held Hearing official decides whether there is sufficient evidence for the court to take jurisdiction or if another action would be better o Diversion process of screening children out of the JJS w o a decision by the court 45 of all juveniles Pretrial Procedures Transfer to Adult Court o Initial hearing is held where they are informed of their rights and that if ia plea is given it must be voluntary o Most states require a detention hearing determines if a child is to be contained or released prior to adjudication Preventive detention held in jail before trial and many of time it is a punishment on its own without the court s decision o Waiver procedure by which the juvenile court relinquishes its jurisdiction and
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