Policy Project
Author Name
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Policy Project
Identification of the Problem
The criminal system comprised of various aspects of consideration that requires necessary attention. There are different forms of criminal issues under the spectrum of a criminal justice system that needs to be comprehensively addressed. The central objective of the series of criminal justice system prevailing in the country is to develop better policies and law of action to effectively deal with different types of criminal issues. It is noteworthy to mention that juvenile delinquency is recognized as one major concern that is identified as a complex phenomenon. Proper handling of cases of offences by juveniles is necessary because it involves a vulnerable population, based on individuals under the age of 18. The facet of juvenile crimes is one critical and serious issue for the criminal justice system of the country that requires some suitable policy development (Jordan & McNeal, 2016). The formulation of a comprehensive policy is necessary to successfully handle the growing concern of juvenile crimes and involves young individuals in the mainstream functioning of society. The concern of juvenile delinquency can be further examined by focusing on various domains of consideration. The overall situation relevant to this criminal issue requires adopting some unique forms of practical measures. Identification of possible weaknesses and limitations is a necessary condition to ensure the successful application of policy against the growing issue of juvenile offences. Proper development and application of the policy in the form of juvenile corrections are only possible by considering various related aspects. A detailed understanding of the problem of juvenile offending is the first practical step to propose suitable policy measures. The development of a significant plan of action is a necessary condition to provide better services in order to obtain and sustain the mental development and overall well-being of juvenile offenders. The central focus is to critically examine the possible strengths and weaknesses of the policy measures relevant to the problem of juvenile offending.
Review of Current Literature
There is a number of former research studies in which researchers focus to examine various dimensions of the issue of juvenile offending. A critical and comprehensive review of existing literature on the problem of juvenile delinquency is an integral condition to propose better policy solutions effectively and efficiently. This form of evaluation is also vital to identify all the obstacles referring to the objective of implementing a successful juvenile correction system. Identification of the approach of treatment in case of juvenile offending is a mandatory facet of consideration to ensure successful handling of the growing trend of criminal activities by young individuals.
The existing connection between the issue of crime and public policy is successfully examined by James Q. Wilson and Joan Petersilia (2010) in their research book, “Crime and Public Policy”. The central focus of this exploratory work is to examine various associated forms and domains of considerations when it comes to developing public policy in order to meet the needs of crimes at different social levels. The inclusion of this piece of research work is vital to apprehend the position of the public policy, specifically in the scenario of juvenile crimes. Undoubtedly, it is vital to successfully understand the approach of current public policy concerning the growing issue of juvenile delinquency. Various features of consideration referring to the issue of juvenile crime and the justice system are illustrated by researchers in the fourth chapter of this book. This specific research work was presented by Peter W. Greenwood and Susan Turner. It is important to mention that the inclusion of this piece of knowledge is vital to identify all the risk factors associated with the approach of criminal behavior by young people. According to researchers, identification of primary stimulating factors is a necessary condition to offer suitable practical measures in the form of correction domains for the juvenile offenders in an effective manner (Wilson & Petersilia, 2010). It is strongly argued by the researchers that active consideration of evidence-based practice in case of juvenile corrections is an obligatory condition to provide better and well-aligned treatment programs for young offenders. A critical consideration of vast domains of prevention, corrections, and the overall role of community and relevant institutions is vital to provide better protection to young individuals against the risk of crime.
The spectrum of youth violence prevention also comprehensively addressed by Thornton and his fellow researchers by presenting the research study with the title, “Best practices of youth violence prevention: A sourcebook for community action”, published in 2000. The primary objective of this research work is to examine the usefulness of the overall framework that is used in the form of community action, to propose better measures of prevention in case of a growing issue of youth violence. It is crucial to indicate that the opinions of the main stakeholders in this scenario such as teachers, community care providers, parents, school administrators, etc. were considered as the potential respondents by the researchers, to find out better measures of reduction for the issue of juvenile offending. It is argued by the researchers that prevention is one of the most critical phases of the overall criminal justice system in case of juvenile offending. It is proposed by the authors that active intervention is a necessary measure when it comes to proposing suitable prevention techniques (Thornton, Craft, Dahlberg, Lynch, & Baer, 2002). These particular strategies of prevention can be recognized under the domains of parent-and family-based, home-visiting, social-cognitive, and assessment plan of action.
The research bulletin provided by Griffin and fellow researchers in 2011 with the name, “Trying juveniles as adults: An analysis of state transfer laws and reporting” is another suitable piece of information. The outcomes delivered by researchers in this research work are assistive to critically overview all the laws of the state when it comes to the provision of a proper criminal justice system for juveniles. It is argued by the researchers that adoption of the proper mechanism is a necessary condition in order to assure successful transfer of juvenile offenders to criminal courts, under state law. It is explicitly established by the researchers that consideration of element of evolution is important when it comes to assuring the successful transfer of a juvenile to the criminal courts under the broader legal domain by the state (Griffin, Addie, Adams, & Firestine, 2011). The main idea of transfer mechanism in case of a young individual greatly related to the changing prospects and positions. The information shared by researchers in the form of this research work can be helpful to examine the current position of the criminal justice system offering for young criminals. This form of assessment is vital to examine the effectiveness of different preventive actions in the scenario of criminal offences by young individuals.
A detailed consideration of the factual information is also one necessary condition to better apprehend the issue of juvenile offences concerning the approach of better corrections mechanism. This form of knowledge is successfully attained from the research report, “Finding Direction: Expanding criminal justice options by considering policies of other nations” by the Justice Policy Institute in 2011. This source of research information is viable to successfully obtain the overall domain of the juvenile justice practices adopted in the United States. Additionally, consideration of critical comparison between the features of the incarceration rate and age of responsibility in case of juveniles (Institute & America, 2011). This form of assessment can be helpful to critically examine the effectiveness of different methods adopted for the rehabilitation of juvenile offending. It is important to indicate that the domain of juvenile protection and rehabilitation in case of different regions of Europe, Australia, and the U.S. is adopted to recognize the most suitable form of consideration.
The approach of graphical representation is utilized by Anne Teigen (2019) in a research report, “Juvenile age of jurisdiction and transfer to adult court laws.” The central aim of this form of consideration is to critically analyze the existing domain of juvenile offenders’ transfer, referring to various aspects of consideration. According to the author, it is necessary to determine the actual and suitable age group when it comes to the issue of juvenile transfer to adult court laws. A comprehensive assessment of the existing scenario in this domain is a necessary condition to ensure the successful application of corrective measures for juvenile offenders (Teigen, 2019). It is critically indicated by the researcher that the age of a juvenile offender needs to be considered as one primary aspect when it comes to developing the idea of transferring them to the adult court system.
The research information provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice U.S., in 2004, is also a necessary form of the research report. This piece of research study can be considered to address the issue of juvenile delinquency because the main concern is to identify the potential causes of the growing problem of juvenile crimes. Undoubtedly, the identification of the root-causes of the main problem is the mandatory condition to propose better practical measures for the future. According to the researcher, it is vital to apprehend the actual domain of delinquency in order to offer suitable practical measures in the form of future direction (Office of Juvenile Justice, 2004). The growing risk in the form of extensive involvement of gangs is critically examined by the researcher to understand the existing connection between the causes and consequences of juvenile crimes.
Prevention is recognized as a necessary condition when it comes to finding possible solutions to deal with the issue of juvenile offending. The prospect of prevention in the context of violent juvenile offence is critically examined by Wasserman and his fellow researchers (2000) in the research article, “Prevention of serious and violent juvenile offending.” The central aim of this form of exploratory research is to identify specific aspects of practice areas that can be considered to propose better solutions to the concern of juvenile offending. Identification of the various nature of risk factors is a necessary condition when it comes to offering successful forms of preventions for the offenders who are characterized as under-aged individuals. It is proposed by researchers that offering multi-systematic intervention programs for juvenile offenders is one of the most significant practical measures (Wasserman, Miller, & Cothern, 2000). This form of the action plan is a feasible condition to propose the prospect of prevention to different juvenile offenders according to their specific requirements.
The overall scenario of juvenile delinquency is also comprehensively examined by Heilbrun and fellow researchers (2005) in the form of research work recognized as, “Juvenile delinquency: prevention, assessment, and intervention.” The inclusion of this piece of research study for the review is effective to successfully observe different dimensions of the main issue of juvenile offending or crime. It is a crucial prospect of consideration to identify the factors that influence the behavioral domains of young individuals and that they are eventually involved in different criminal activities at a young age. One of the developments of the main argument by researchers in this selected book is to examine the importance of forensic mental health assessments of the offenders (Heilbrun, Goldstein, & Redding, 2005). It is proposed by the researchers that proper evaluation of the mentioned condition of young offenders is a necessary condition to propose better practical solutions for them. Moreover, the importance of different shareholders in this scenario is highlighted when it comes to achieving the objective of proper prevention in case of juvenile offending.
A comprehensive series of knowledge provided by the researchers considering the importance of growing concern of juvenile delinquency. Furthermore, it is established that consideration of different phases is a necessary condition to achieve the objective of proper handling of the problem of juvenile offending. According to the researchers in this book, the first step of this correctional process is to critically examine the particular factors that encourage young individuals to get involved in different illegal and improper activities. The growing involvement in this form of action eventually appeared as the growing cases of juvenile delinquency in the country. Additionally, it is established that there are various integrated factors that can be characterized as the main causes referring to the issue of juvenile offending. A successful exploration between risk factors and prevention factors is a mandatory condition to offer better solutions to the growing concern of application of criminal activities by the young offenders. According to the researchers, this form of assessment is a vital measure referring to the entire process of corrections and preventions for young criminals (Heilbrun et al., 2005). It is also explicitly mentioned by the researchers that the option of mental health treatment can never be ignored when it comes to offering better living conditions to young offenders. According to former researchers, mental treatment of juvenile criminals needs to be an obligatory part of the overall criminal justice system to propose better forms of practices for young individuals. The aim of better corrective measures for young offenders can never be achieved without helping them with their psychological disturbances and upheavals.
Summary of Existing Policy and Potential Approaches
A complete assessment of the issue of juvenile delinquency is not possible without considering the effectiveness and the application of existing policy in this scenario. It is vital to observe and examine the current domain of corrective measures for juvenile offending. It is important to successfully deal with this issue and achieve the objective of better prevention in this scenario. Furthermore, this form of assessment can be vital to propose better practical solutions for prevention and treatment for the future in the context of juvenile offending. It is also vital to indicate that the critical examination of existing practices of correction also helps to propose better potential approaches for future domains. Identification of the current juvenile justice system is a necessary condition to identify the potential hazards and the areas of opportunities referring to the objective of better prevention.
Currently, there are three main mechanisms adopted under the paradigm of the juvenile criminal system. Identification of all these practices is effective to determine the current legal position in the overall scenario of juvenile offending. These main practices are recognized as a judicial waiver, legislative exclusion, and prosecutor discretion. All these parameters or standards are utilized referring to the growing concern of juvenile offending. The most common method of sending juveniles to the courts is identified as the adoption of judicial waiver standard. In case of this form of consideration, juvenile offenders can transfer to the courts by the decision of judges. In this method, judges have the authority to successfully waive their approach of the jurisdiction in the form of transfer instead of considering the option of an adult court. This mechanism is also recognized with the title of discretionary waiver that illustrates the important role of judges in case of development and application of the overall juvenile justice system.
Another potential approach in the overall form of juvenile criminal justice has appeared in the form of legislative exclusion. This practical scenario is another important prospect when it comes to finding better solutions to the issue of juvenile crimes. This particular method characterized its position as one of the most frequently applied methods concerning the approach of transferring juveniles to the criminal courts. Under this mechanism, the entity of the state legislative body has the authority to pass a law concerning the idea of youth charged with some specific forms of offenses. This form of power is utilized to define the position of specific cases that need to be prosecuted in criminal courts instead of considering the age of the offender. In this particular practice of the juvenile criminal system, the main focus towards the actual nature of the crime and giving less attention to the age factor in the entire scenario of juvenile delinquency.
Prosecutor discretion is another major standard followed by the juvenile criminal system to better apprehends the issue of juvenile crimes. This method is sometimes adopted by the legal authorities to successfully define the criminal position of young individuals. The state law provides authority to the prosecutors in the form of power, to decide whether it is significant to send juveniles to the criminal court or not (Democracy Now, 2019). This facet of consideration also identified with the name of concurrent jurisdiction that is used with regards to some specific cases of criminal offenses. It is vital to indicate that the entire procedure of the juvenile criminal system closely associated with the domain of prevention in the entire issue of juvenile offending. Development of various strategies is proposed to provide better living conditions for young offenders.
Assessment of the Strengths and Limitations
A critical assessment of the strengths and limitations of the current practice in the form of the juvenile criminal system is a necessary condition to propose better solutions to this growing and complex issue. This form of consideration requires an examination of the suitability of existing strategies to examine the potential benefits of these methods. It is observed that the current positioning of the juvenile justice system lacking the suitable perspective of rehabilitation in the scenario of juvenile offenders. It is one critical downfall of the current system that requires necessary attention and suitable fixation. The limitation of the juvenile justice system also appeared in the form of proper transfer of young individuals to the criminal courts. It is argued that young individuals, as the offenders, still suffer from the scenario of the criminal justice process, irrespective of this under-age domain.
Exploration of major strengths of the current practices in the case of juvenile offending is also important to successfully illustrate the current legal position in this manner. The major strength appearing in this legal mechanism is that it assures young people’s protection from various forms of physical and mental abuse. The existing approach of the juvenile criminal system has the authority to provide necessary protection to the young offenders by differentiating them from the usual form of criminal offense and the entire process of prosecution. Additionally, the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders is another strong practical option delivered by the current approach of juvenile justice. A detailed examination of the entire scenario of the juvenile justice system explicitly reveals that there is a need for offering better practical measures to ensure successful development and execution of the rehabilitation approach.
References
Democracy Now! Kids for Cash: Inside One of the Nation’s Most Shocking Juvenile Justice Scandals. (2019).
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Griffin, P., Addie, S., Adams, B., & Firestine, K. (2011). Trying juveniles as adults: An analysis of state transfer laws and reporting. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile ….
Heilbrun, K., Goldstein, N. E. S., & Redding, R. E. (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Prevention, assessment, and intervention. Oxford University Press.
Institute, J. P., & America, U. S. of. (2011). Finding Direction: Expanding Criminal Justice Options by Considering Policies of Other Nations.
Jordan, K. L., & McNeal, B. A. (2016). Juvenile penalty or leniency: Sentencing of juveniles in the criminal justice system. Law and human behavior, 40(4), 387.
Office of Juvenile Justice. (2004). Juvenile Justice: Causes and Correlates: Findings and Implications.
Teigen, A. (2019). Juvenile Age of Jurisdiction and Transfer to Adult Court Laws.
Thornton, T. N., Craft, C. A., Dahlberg, L. L., Lynch, B. S., & Baer, K. (2002). Best practices of youth violence prevention: A sourcebook for community action. June 2002 (Revision).
Wasserman, G. A., Miller, L. S., & Cothern, L. (2000). Prevention of serious and violent juvenile offending. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile ….
Wilson, J. Q., & Petersilia, J. (2010). Crime and public policy. Oxford University Press.
