Should Juveniles be tried as adults?

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

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 the university.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Purpose of the Thesis3

Aim and Objectives4

Research Question4

Layout of the Thesis4

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Introduction6

Juvenile System6

History of the Juvenile Court8

Treatment of Juveniles11

Types of Waiver or Transfer Statutes13

Waiver Related Legislation14

Geographical Differences in Waiver17

Deterrent Effects of State-Specific Waiver Laws19

CHAPTER 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY21

Introduction21

Overview of the Secondary Research21

Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Research22

Literature Search23

Conclusion23

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS24

Are Juveniles who are transferred to adult criminal courts given more harsh sentences?36

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION39

Future Directions40

REFERENCES43

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was increasing concern about the rising number of violent juvenile offenders in the United States. There was a 50% increase in total juvenile arrests for violent crimes between 1988 and 1994, and the number of juveniles arrested for murder increased 158% between 1985 and 1994. Simultaneously, there were media reports of an increase in juvenile “super predators,” juveniles who were thought to be more dangerous and violent than generations of youth before them, and who began committing violent acts at younger ages (Jordan & Myers, 2008). Researchers also projected that an increase in the juvenile population would create an even larger group of violent juvenile predators in the near future (Zimring, 1998; Shook, 2005). Both the increase in juvenile crime and the public's fears about a growing generation of dangerous super predators led to a number of legislative reforms facilitating the transfer of juveniles to adult criminal court in the early 1990s (Jordan & Myers, 2008).

Although the juvenile population did increase as expected, violent crime rates among juveniles actually decreased significantly from 1994 to 2000, reaching a rate nearly as low as it had been in 1980, before the rise in crime. In recent years, juvenile arrests for violent crimes have been at their lowest level since 1988 (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). Despite this, many of the punitive reforms from the 1990s remain in place. Currently, approximately 200,000 juveniles are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year (Campaign for Youth Justice, 2009). This is a substantial increase compared to the approximately 12,000 juveniles transferred to criminal court in 1978 (Hamparian, 1982, as cited in Krisberg, 2005).

There is some evidence showing that when ...