Juvenile Offenders Essay

1799 Words8 Pages
Isabel Kelley CRJ Juvenile Offenders Juveniles committing unlawful acts fall into one of the following categories, depending mostly on the nature of the conduct involved: Delinquents, Petty offenders, Juvenile traffic offenders, Juveniles certified to adult court, Extended jurisdiction juveniles and Juveniles age 16 and older accused of first-degree murder. Delinquents is a individuals under the age of 18 who commit acts which would be unlawful if committed by an adult, except for certain designated offenses and all petty offenses. An individual subject to a delinquency hearing is entitled to effective assistance of counsel. Cases involving children under the age of ten who are alleged to have committed an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult are handled as civil CHIPS (children in need of protection or services) hearings. Petty offenders are children who engage in conduct which is unlawful for them but not unlawful for adults, such as violating curfew, drinking, and smoking. Also included in the petty offender category are juveniles who commit petty misdemeanors and juveniles charged with their first or second nonviolent misdemeanor offense, with the exception of certain designated offenses. A juvenile traffic offender is a child who violates traffic laws. In certain cases, depending on the age of the child and the nature of the traffic offense, the matter may be handled exclusively by the adult court rather than the juvenile court. For example, a child 16 years old or older who is alleged to have committed a petty misdemeanor-level traffic offense or a DWI or related nonfelony offense is treated the same as an adult offender. Juveniles certified to adult court is if the juvenile court may decide that a child over the age of 14 who is accused of a particularly dangerous offense and/or has engaged in criminal conduct in the past would be handled
Open Document