Even though juvenile justice is given a lot of significance and there is an existing juvenile justice system within NSW, it is only partially effective in providing just penalties for juvenile offenders. According to the Children (criminal proceedings) Act 1987 NSW, young offenders between 10 and 18 are said to hold criminal responsibility. This is due to the common law of doli incapax. A child is believed to not fully comprehend the consequences of their actions, and therefore they do not have the intent (mens rea), to be convicted of the offence. Generally the types of crimes committed are neither serious or violent.
Adolescence, 16 years of age and older, do not differ from adults in many area, that could prevent them from participating in a fair trial. Children between the ages of thirteen and seventeen years old should be assessed to test their competence levels to stand trial. Steinberg argues that immaturity in a juvenile case should be considered; just as insanity and emotional stress are considered in other cases. Collier realizes that crimes are occurring at an increasing rate and wonders why more action has not been taken in the juvenile justice system especially when the prosecutions of juveniles are not unheard
Just because a child commit’s the crime, doesn’t mean that the crime wasn’t committed. The victim (if there was one) still suffered. Violent crime should receive the harshest of punishments and it’s said that the children should be equivalent to that. The reason juveniles should be tried as adults is because it will not only help them understand the event of their action but also discourage the juvenile from any crimes in the future. It will automatically decrease crime rates in today’s society and hopefully make it a better place.
Explian why young offenders are treated differently in teh criminal justice system: less maturity - less ability to see the difference between right and wrong - more easily influenced by other people - chance to change how a youth views these bad things, while its too late for adults - gives a chance to preserve the inoccence in that child and gives them anoter chance to become a good person - the circumstances in their lives may have a LARGE affect on the bad choices they have made. What does this mean for
Juvenile justice can be defined as the sector of the law applicable to persons not of legal age. Complying with the United Nations Conventions of the Rights of the Child, the juvenile justice system aims to combine the welfare and justice approaches to youth crime, in order to keep the best interests of the child as the most prominent of priorities. However, there remains a considerable list of aims to be addressed when the issue of responding to juvenile justice arises. These include decreasing rates of recidivism, providing rehabilitation into society, and ultimately recognizing that due to mental immaturity and lack of legal knowledge, young offenders require a degree of protection. The extent to which our legal system is able to adequately provide this is at times, questionable.
I personally believe that juveniles believe fully that they cannot be punished if they are breaking laws. They do not realize that they are still accountable for their actions, and their actions are accountable by law. The kinds of delinquent behavior that brings youths into juvenile court can be divided into person offenses, such as assault, robbery, rape, and murder or property offenses that include larceny, automobile theft, burglary, trespassing, arson, and vandalism; also public order offenses, such as disorderly conduct, weapons and liquor law violations. There are three basic pathways for a juvenile to be tried in a criminal court: statutory exclusion, prosecutorial discretion, and judicial waiver or transfer. Once a youth is found to be delinquent, the judge can place the youth on formal probation, order the youth to a residential facility, invoke other sanctions such as restitution, fines, or community service, or dismiss the case.
Teenagers do not have the intellectual or mental capacity to understand the consequences of their actions; they lack the same capacity to be trial defendants. The reason behind juvenile court systems is to protect these immature kids instead of harming them. Parents and institutions need to work with young criminals to shape their brains onto the right path to
Generally, the police do not follow the protocol of the juvenile justice system unless it becomes necessary to actually process a juvenile. To saddle the police with yet another set of processes for juveniles would be less than productive as the patrol have so much more work to address. By the same token however we have community policing which does incorporate a level of juvenile justice. Law enforcement agencies implement several strategies when it comes to responding to and preventing crimes. One of the most recent of those many strategies is the community policing philosophy.
Treating youth offenders at the community level with education is a more effective way to reduce violent crime. II. Current legislation about youth and violent crime focuses on jailing gang members, but this is not the root cause. Show visual aid (Greene & Pranis, 2007).
What is the best way to rehabilitate juvenile offenders so as to prevent them from turning to a life of crime? There has probably never been a moment in history when adults were not shocked by what they regarded as an unprecedented wave of criminal behavior among children and adolescents. Nowadays the incidents of criminal behavior among juveniles are increasing and the reasons leading to this increase are many and varied. To begin with, in my opinion, society itself may be partially to blame for increased juvenile delinquency and society itself has to come up with a solution to prevent them from turning to a life of crime. Starting with the highest authority of the courts, where the judges should designate one separation between petty and serious crimes.