Juvenile System Comparison

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California and New York are as far apart as two states can be; their juvenile justice systems however are not that different. California’s juvenile justice system first goal is public safety; but unlike the adult justice system whose other goal is punishment the juvenile system goal is rehabilitation and treatment of offenders. Their juvenile court system is setup to maximize these goals and results. This appears to be the same goal of the New York juvenile justice system as well; their system is setup in a way to encouragement the rehabilitation of juvenile rather than punishment. In the state of New York State a person who commits a crime and is under the age of 16 is sent to the Family Court system. The first type of hearing in the New York juvenile justice system is in the family court, said juvenile is then submitted to a fact finding hearing. If a finding is made the judge schedules a dispositional hearing and the Probation Department is ordered to investigate; then the juvenile’s home is looked into as well as school activity and behavior. The first sign a juvenile delinquent may exhibit is trouble in school, being suspended or acting out. In California from that point the police may get involved if an incident occurs at school or home, the officer can choose to take the youth to juvenile hall. The next step would be the probation department’s decision to book the juvenile or not based on offense and capacity of the hall Once a juvenile is arrested in California the officer has more leeway in whether to release the minor back to his or her parents or take them to juvenile hall. Once detained, the district attorney can drop charges, request transfer or file charges. Once placed in juvenile hall a petition can be filed either by the district attorney or the probation department. At this point the court can make various decisions such as whether the

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