Juvenile Punishment and the Political Sociology: Treating Juvenile Offenders as Adults

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this chance for thanking my research facilitator, friends & family for support they provided & their belief in me as well as guidance they provided without which I would have never been able to do this research.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

Abstract

This research aims to discuss juvenile punishment and political sociology. In this research, the treatment of juvenile offenders as adults has been discussed. During the last few years, the rate of juvenile crimes is increasing. There are many juvenile offenders who have committed violent crimes for instance murder. The juvenile justice system is based on the assumption that juvenile are not morally responsible for their actions. In order to justify the treatment of juvenile offenders in adult courts, the research has taken into considerations public opinions. The research has adopted the mixed research methodology. The findings of this study have suggested that the procedures of juvenile courts should be made more formal than before. In addition, juvenile offenders involved in hideous crimes should be punished by juvenile courts.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI

DECLARATIONII

ABSTRACTIII

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

BACKGROUND1

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM1

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH2

RESEARCH QUESTION2

JUSTIFICATION2

SCOPE2

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW4

HISTORY OF JUVENILE LEGISLATIONS4

CONCERNS ABOUT JUVENILE PUNISHMENT5

THE CRITICISM ON THE JUVENILE COURT11

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUVENILES AND ADULT OFFENDERS12

PENAL PROPORTIONALITY12

MATURITY AND CULPABILITY13

THE POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY OF THE JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY14

CONFLICT THEORY AND SOCIAL CONTROL16

THE TREATMENT OF JUVENILE IN ADULT COURTS17

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY19

RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY19

RESEARCH METHOD19

MIXED METHOD RESEARCH20

DATA COLLECTION20

SAMPLING METHOD21

LITERATURE SEARCH21

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY21

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION22

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION23

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION35

RECOMMENDATIONS36

FURTHER RESEARCH37

QUESTIONNAIRE41

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background

There have been numerous studies that investigate the role of courts and justice system in improving social control. However, only a limited number of studies have analysed the problem from the perspective of political ideology. The punishment of juvenile offenders has become one of the major problems in the modern society. There have been several public concerns regarding the justifications for juvenile punishment.

This dissertation aims to examine the treatment of juvenile offenders in adult courts.

This dissertation addresses this issue by examining it from the perspective of political sociology. Since many years, legislatures, scholars, and others have been trying to justify the existence of juvenile justice system. There are many progressive thinkers who believe that juveniles are less capable of transgressions than adults. Therefore, juveniles should be treated in a separate justice system (Albonetti, 1986, PP. 623).

Statement of the Problem

There are several concerns regarding the treatment of juveniles. The juvenile justice system has been subjected to harsh criticisms from different groups. According to critics, juveniles should be treated in adult courts. The critics also claim that the amalgamation of political interests and justice is contributing towards limiting the effectiveness of juvenile justice ...