In my final paper I will tell you all about the juvenile court system. What it is all about and how it is different from the adult court system. Will explain what delinquency is and what status offenses are. I will also talk about the variables that correlate with juvenile crime rates. I hope to be able to explain this all in a way that everyone will be able to understand what is going on with our juveniles. The criminal justice system for juveniles in set up almost like the criminal justice system for adults. The one thing with the juvenile system they are in more hopes to salvage the youth that has gone wrong in their lives.
Something like if a juvenile went into a store and thought it was a cool thing to steel something just to fit in better with their peers, but they got caught. This would be something that they would think they could salvage the juvenile from going wrong the rest of their lives. (Schmallenger, 2011) In juvenile court you have a detention hearing not a bail hearing. With and adult you have a trial, with a juvenile you have a fact finding hearing. Adults have complaints or indictments against them, a juvenile have a petition. Adults are called defendants and juveniles are called respondents.
With a juvenile you have adjudication and with an adult you get a verdict. Adults are guilty or innocent and with juveniles they are delinquent or involved. There are a lot of differences in adult court verse juvenile court. (http://www. lawcollective. org) Just because you are a juvenile or minor does not always mean you will be tried in juvenile court. Depending on the crime that is what will determine where you will be tried. If you have done something several times and you get caught again doing the same thing they might just think you are acting like an adult and will be treated like an adult.
If you murder someone and it is premeditated then you will more than likely be tried in adult court. If you are found guilty then you will go to prison and not just a juvenile detention. (Schmallenger, 2011) Let’s talk about delinquency and see what it is all about. The definition of delinquency, in the broadest usage, juvenile actions or conduct in violation of criminal law, juvenile status offenses, and other juvenile misbehavior. In other words if a juvenile commits a crime then he/she would be a delinquent. It could be as little as toilet papering someone’s yard and they call the police on you.
That is destruction of property or trespassing. Not all the time will the cops arrest you or write you a ticket but they will be keeping an eye on you and you will be considered a delinquent to them. (Schmallenger, 2011) Now let’s talk a little about statue offenses. The definition of statute offenses is an act or conduct that is declared by statute to be an offense, but only when committed by or engaged in by a juvenile and that can be adjudicated only by a juvenile court. In other words if a child gets mad at their parent and decides to run away he/she could be arrested and put in detention because that is breaking the law.
Or you have something like truancy which is simply not going to school at all or just skipping school to much or missing without a doctor’s note would not be excused. In this case not only will the child get into trouble but normally the adult does as well. (Schmallenger, 2011) There are several other things that correlate with juvenile crime rates. The one that I think is the biggest is no parent supervision or little supervision. Not saying that all kids that do things bad the parents are the cause but there are a lot of parents out there that do not really care what the kid does.
They let them run the streets all hours of the day and that could lead to drug or alcoholism use. Then they might be lonely and a gage invites them to be part of them. For me it all starts with the foundation of a good home. I was raised in a home with strict rules but parents that paid lots of attention to what we did as kids and was part of our lives. We always felt like we could go to our parents with anything. (Schmallenger, 2011) There are so many children out there that do not realize what they do just to fit in.
There are kids out there that think bullying is so fun but when it goes too far and someone gets hurt then they don’t think it is so funny. You see all the time that there was someone in a school that was bullied and end up dropping out of school or even worse hurting themselves or others. Sometimes we need to go back to the golden rule of “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. (Bible) If I was part of a juvenile system and money was not an issue then it would be nice to be able to set up more community centers for our youth.
Give them something to do besides just playing video games or walking the streets and getting into trouble. I think that it should be pushed more in schools that if you have a problem you can go to any teacher at any time and talk to them without them having to go tell someone else. That is as long as you were not hurting yourself or someone else. Talking things out with someone is what a lot of kids need. Some other things I think would help reduce the juvenile crime rate is to make it possible for parents to be part of their children’s lives no matter what.
I think parents should be in trouble for just sitting on their butts and not doing things with their children. If you could go to a baseball game or watch them in a school play that means so much to them and the parents sometimes don’t even know it. It is understand able that parents have to work but maybe there should be laws that allow a parent to use a sick day to spend with their child or make it to where it is not a sick day but just a day for their kid. I know I am thinking way out of the box but someone has to.
I made the choice to be a stay at home mom until all my children went to school. We pinched our pennies but we made it through. Sometime it is just priorities. Personally I have a kid that is best friends with my son. He comes from a rather hard family and all he needs is just a little love and someone to talk to. I am sitting here writing this paper and he asked what I was doing. I told him and he asked me to read it to him. To me he just wants to be involved with a family and feel loved and I try to do that for him. I was once told you can’t save them all but one or two I can.
If it takes me an hour longer to write this paper because he needs or any of my kids need my attention then I will do it. In conclusion there are a lot of things different with a juvenile than there is with an adult. I think if I was going to get into trouble which I don’t plan on it I would rather do it as a juvenile than as an adult. Being a delinquent can’t be fun for them but they did it to themselves no matter how you look at it. I personally want to help the children when I am done with my schooling and make some type of difference with their lives. I really think that is what I am supposed to do with my life.
Reference
Schmallenger, F. (2011). Criminal Justice Today: An introductory text to the twenty first century. (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall
