Juvenile Justice System

Juvenile Justice System

Introduction

Prior to the creation of the juvenile courts, minors aged seven (7) and above who were found to have committed misdemeanor were imprisoned together with the adults. Whatever law is imposed for the punishment of adult offenders was applied to minors. Minors were treated as harshly as adult offenders. In fact, in 1648, there was a law in Massachusetts which imposed death penalty for any child over 16 who shall commit the offense of cursing their natural father or mother.

However, later studies and research showed that the incarceration of juvenile offenders together with adult offenders does more harm than good not just to the juvenile offenders but to the society as well. This happened during the early years of the 19th Century where political and social reformers successfully pushed for reforms and instituted several changes in the society such as right of suffrage among women, protection of children against labor, and the institution of eight-hour work day. With the help of social and political reformers, several changes were introduced in the criminal justice system and reformers started to rehabilitate rather than punish minors.

Society began to have a paradigm shift insofar as their treatment of juvenile delinquents is concerned. Thus, the Juvenile Justice System was created to reform US policies regarding juvenile offenders. Thus, the New York Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents led the opening of the House of Refuge which was the country's first reformatory.Juvenile law is the body of law that applies to young people who are not yet adults. These people are called juveniles or minors. In most states, a person is a juvenile until eighteen years old. Juvenile cases are handled in a special court, usually called a juvenile court. Before the American juvenile justice system was created in the late 1800s, juveniles who broke the law were treated like adult criminals.

Historical Background

When the United States was born in 1776, children under seven years of age were exempt from the criminal laws. Courts, however, treated juveniles seven years and older like miniature adults. Juveniles could be arrested, tried, and convicted of crimes. If convicted, they received prison sentences just like adults. Children convicted of minor crimes found themselves in jails with adult murderers and rapists, where children learned the ways of these criminals.

In the early 1800s, immigrants from Europe filled American cities such as New York. Neglected immigrant children often roamed city streets and got into trouble while their parents looked for work. In 1818, the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism created the term "juvenile delinquents" to describe these children (Riekes, 1990).

Social awareness led people to search for a better way to handle young people who broke the law. In the 1820s, the Society for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency suggested separating adult and juvenile criminals. The Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents worked to reform juvenile delinquents instead of punishing them. It sent them to live in dormitories and to go to school to learn to ...