JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Historical Development of the Juvenile Justice System



Historical Development of the Juvenile Justice System

How the Historical Development of the Juvenile Justice System Has Impacted the Programs

Historical development of the juvenile justice system has impacted the programs in a number of ways. First of all lets consider that juvenile delinquency refers to criminal and other deviant acts committed by children and youths. It encompasses a wide range of criminal activities, from less serious crimes such as drinking and shoplifting, to more serious activities such as burglary and rape. Juvenile delinquency also includes noncriminal behaviors that only children and youth can be charged with, such as running away from home, disobeying parents, and skipping school.

Binder, Geis & Bruce (2001) mention the concept of juvenile delinquency began to take shape in the United States during the early 19th century in response to rapid industrialization, urbanization, and breakdown of traditional community ties. Juvenile delinquency has been a focus of social control activities and state surveillance (Binder, Geis & Bruce, 2001). The juvenile justice system refers to a body of courts, laws, and social institutions designed to protect and treat exclusively juvenile delinquents, separate from the adult justice system. The juvenile justice system and the concept of juvenile delinquency have affected the urban landscape in various ways. Reformers and social scientists have often found the causes of juvenile delinquency in the peculiar economic, social, and cultural conditions of cities, and they have established social policies and institutions to control behavior of youths in the cities.

The development of the notion of juvenile delinquency is strongly connected to the emergence of childhood and adolescence as distinctive life stages. Childhood as a distinct life stage did not exist in early America (Binder, Geis & Bruce, 2001). Children were quickly integrated into the adult world by serving an apprenticeship or contributing to the family-based economy in colonial America. Treatment of juvenile offenders was based on English common law, which defined children under 7 years old as guiltless and those over 14 years old as adults criminally responsible. Juveniles who committed serious crimes were treated as adults.

Children were deemed sinful by nature and could face punishment for offenses such as laziness, disobedience, and rebelliousness. The strong emotional attachment of parents to their children was also largely absent in early America. The 19th century witnessed dramatic changes in the perception of childhood (Daily and Hates, 2001). In accordance with rapid industrialization, apprenticeship and the family-based economy that had served to incorporate children into an adult world declined gradually. With the expansion of compulsory public education, children began to remain in their parents' home and to receive special treatment for longer periods of time. Mothers began to play a central role in socializing children, and they attached new emotional values to children. Parents now rejected the idea that children were sinful by nature and emphasized the pliability of the child's nature. Children came to be seen as a source of pleasure and playfulness (Daily and Hates, ...