Juvenile Justice in America

Introduction

Juveniles are minor criminals basically due to juvenile delinquency. In most juvenile cases, they are not subjected to the jury rather to juvenile correction facilities. There are various theories that attempt to explain the causes of crime among the juvenile; some of which could be associated with post traumatic stress disorder and social disorganization (Bartollas, 2006)

The basic reason why juveniles are not subjected to the jury for their peers is primarily because of the frameworks under which they commit the offences. This right is not extended to the juveniles because the nature of the crimes committed and the environment under which they commit the crimes does not warrant them to be subjected to the forces of the adult criminal justice system rather, they have to be subjected to corrective facilities. A juvenile crime does not require serving a jail time as in the case of adult crime. The justice system should focus more on delinquency prevention and corrective measures instead of subjecting the juveniles to the harsh adult criminal justice system (Ojeda, 2002).

In the criminal justice system, there are differences between the adult and the juvenile justice system. Juveniles who commit offences that are deemed to be of adult nature can either be subjected to the juvenile court depending on the gravity of the crime; they can be tried under the adult criminal courts. Such differences in the criminal justice system are basically due to motive of subjecting the offender to the justice system. Juvenile system lays more emphasis on rehabilitation while the adult justice system focuses on delivering punishment to the offender. Rehabilitation simply focuses on changing the social behavior of the juvenile and not subjecting to severe punishment. The aim of the juvenile system should be directed towards juvenile delinquency prevention. Such strategy does not usually involve offering severe punishments. It is therefore justified that if a juvenile commits an adult offense, he or she is not supposed to face the adult jail time (Miller & Bartollas, 2005)

The concepts gained from the above review of the criminal justice system can be used to analyze the nature of the juvenile crime and the environment under which the crime is committed in order to determine the justice system which the offender should be subjected to. Appropriate criminology theories should be evaluated before the conviction of a juvenile offender.