What is a suitable sentence for these minors? Some believe that rehabilitation is the answer because they feel that minors are not mature enough and that they do not think rationally about most of their actions. Others feel that by locking them up and throwing away the key is the answer to solving the problem. Crimes are a serious and something indeed has to be done about it. A minor in general is someone under the age of 18.
Assessing the effectiveness of the criminal justice system when dealing with young offenders in relation to the source SMH. The Criminal Justice System subjects children to the same criminal law as it does adults. However, they are treated differently as that, there is a certain age at which it is believed to be that the child is too young to cause criminal intent. This age limit in NSW is ten years old. It is believed that at this age the child is unable to possess Mens Rea, this is referred to as Doli Incapax.
Treatment can not only help a juvenile offender get past the actions that caused him/her to be an offender in the first place but also can help the juvenile from repeating the same mistake again. There are many different treatment options available for juveniles I believe the decision should be based on the nature of the crime that they committed. A juvenile delinquent crime where I live, which is the state of New Jersey, is considered anyone under the age of 17 that commits a crime. There are many different types of crimes in the United States and outside of the more serious ones such as murder and rape. Smaller crimes by juveniles can be tough to judge because they can be based on so many different factors.
President Mark Soler of the Washington, D.C., Youth Law Center points out that adolescents/children are required by law to be incarcerated separately from adults. However, the overwhelmed juvenile justice system lets the adult criminal justice system handle many youth offenders. This causes numerous negative effects for convicted juveniles. The law recognizes that adolescents/children are less equipped to make important decisions than adults are. Yet the law fails to distinguish between adolescents/children and adults when it comes to spending the rest of their lives in prison for crimes they have committed before their 18th birthday.
According to "Juvenile Court Procedure" (2012), "After committing an offense, juveniles are detained rather than arrested. Next, a petition is drawn up which outlines the jurisdiction authority of the juvenile court over the offense and detained individuals, gives notice for the reason for the court appearance, serves as notice to the minor's family, and also is the official charging document"(para 1). Moreover, juvenile offender cases are heard in family courts unlike adult cases that are heard in criminal court. In response, to all the information I provided, my opinion is that the juvenile process should definitely differ from the adult process. I think that juveniles should not receive a harsh of a process as adults because he or she are still kids themselves.
These types of decisions to try juveniles in adult court serve society in terms of placing these individuals in custody for potential rehabilitation and introduction back into society. According to Kathleen Michon, one of the advantages of trying a juvenile case in criminal courts is that “minors have the right to a jury trial in adult court” [since] most states do not provide a jury trial for juveniles (Michon, 2014, p. 2). Michon also suggests that juveniles will be more apt to receive a “sympathetic jury” (Michon,
Juvenile Rights Acorn T Fautanu CRJ 301 Juvenile Justice Elizabeth Ferns September 10, 2012 The criminal justice system is in place to ensure justice and the rights of both citizens and offenders. Although this can be a difficult concept to balance, as there is much controversy between protecting the public and guaranteeing offender rights, it is necessary to implement both strategies to have a well-rounded justice system. Juveniles have certain rights at the time of arrest in addition to special rights afforded to them that differ from adult offenders. A juvenile that is arrested, is afforded rights as like adults and special rights because of their age, the ability to understand what is happening and other factors.
The law does recognize these differences, but, a Juvenile, like an adult, makes the choice to commit a crime or not. Therefore, like an adult, they must be held accountable. A Juvenile Delinquent is defined as an individual under the age of 18 who commit acts which would be unlawful if committed by an adult. More juveniles are growing up now without cooperating peacefully with the law than ever before. Many of them often pay a low price even when caught.
However, the language and form of punishment used to rehabilitate and punish children differs greatly from that used in adult courts (Siegel, 2009). The juvenile court system serves two major functions; keeping juvenile offenders away from the society and rehabilitating or correcting them. Correction helps to hold juveniles accountable to their action by helping them to realize the wrong they have done. In addition, correction facilities help to educating, and imparting social skills among juvenile offenders. Through the correction function of juvenile court system, young offenders are influenced to realize their potential by helping them to build acceptable vocational and interpersonal skills.
Once a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent, the judge then choses a disposition which usually is probation but there are other options such as juvenile halls, boot camps, group homes, youth correctional facilities and so on. I believe that the juvenile process should differ from that of the adult process because at the end of the day, a juvenile is still a child and most do not fully understand the severity of their crime. The juvenile courts can ultimately help the subject instead of resulting in