JUVENILE'S RIGHTS AT THE TIME OF ARREST

Juvenile's Rights at the Time of Arrest

Juvenile's Rights at the Time of Arrest

Introduction

Arrest, the first formal procedure in the criminal justice process, occurs when a police officer takes a person into custody for having allegedly committed a criminal offense. Quite literally, it means that the person arrested can no longer move about freely. This paper discusses juvenile's rights at the time of arrest in a concise and comprehensive way.

Juvenile's Rights at the Time of Arrest

Cole and Christopher (2001) mentioned that when juveniles are adjudicated delinquent or in need of court services, they have a legal right to treatments that meet their needs, as well as access to a free education through the twelfth grade. When first charged with an offense, the child's parents are to be notified immediately, if possible. If arrested, a juvenile has a right to make telephone calls to his or her parents and an attorney, free of charge. Most states limit the amount of time a child can be kept in custody. Usually the intake hearing is conducted within a few hours, and the youth is released to a parent or guardian. Parents are informed of the youth's right to counsel if the case is filed with juvenile court (Cole and Christopher, 2001).

During the past several years, there has been a decline in the overall number of youths under the age of eighteen being arrested: From 1995 to 1999, juvenile arrests fell 9 percent. Nonetheless, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, 17 percent of all persons arrested in 1999 were under the age of eighteen. Moreover, there have been increases in arrests of juveniles for violent crimes and drug-related offenses. When a juvenile is found to be involved in delinquent or incorrigible behavior, police agencies have procedures that permit them either to release the child or to retain him or her for referral to juvenile court.

This decision to release or detain, like the decision to arrest or not arrest adults, has been associated with the nature of the offense as well as the attitude and social and personal condition of the youth at the time of arrest. Factors that are believed to influence police officers' decisions about whether to arrest a juvenile include the nature and seriousness of the offense (Wrobleski and Karen, 2000); the ability and willingness of the parents to be of assistance in disciplining the youth; the child's past interactions and contacts with police officers; the degree of cooperation obtained from the youth and parents, as well as their demeanor, attitude, and personal characteristics; and whether the youth denies the allegations in the petition and insists on a court hearing. Bruce Berg reports that gender also appears to affect a police officer's decision whether or not to arrest a juvenile—particularly for minor offenses. However, studies in this area tend to have mixed findings. In spite of an increasing number of females committing crime, male juveniles continue to be taken into custody more ...