NCJ Number
167150
Journal
Journal for Juvenile Justice and Detention Services Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1997) Pages: 38-44
Date Published
1997
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article assesses the trend toward processing juvenile offenders in the adult criminal justice system and proposes an alternative strategy.
Abstract
This trend means that more juveniles are being prosecuted in adult court, more juveniles are being held in adult jails, and juvenile detention and corrections are becoming more like adult detention and corrections. Those who support this trend argue that juveniles coming into the system these days are more like adult offenders in terms of their violent and dangerous behavior. This trend is based largely in public fear of these juveniles, and the rationale of policymakers and their supporters is that the public will be safer if these juveniles are processed in the same manner as adults. There is no evidence, however, that this is true. The adult criminal justice system is overcrowded, overworked, overwhelmed, and understaffed. Rather than treating and changing criminal behaviors, it tends to reinforce them. Juveniles released from the adult system are likely to be more dangerous upon release than when they entered the system. Given the policy trend fueled by public attitudes, it is important to fight public fear with facts. The truth is that the rate of violent juvenile crime decreased in 1995, and the rate of homicides by juveniles decreased for the second year in a row, down by 15.2 percent. Also, the danger posed by juveniles must be kept in perspective. There are violent and dangerous youth who must be incapacitated for the community's safety, but they are a small percentage of the juveniles who are arrested. This small percentage of juveniles should not determine policy for the majority of juveniles. In the processing of juveniles, they must be viewed as individuals who are troubled because they come from troubled families. They have strengths as well as weaknesses. There are many model juvenile programs that have been effective with juveniles whose needs are met by various program types. There is a need for all juveniles justice agencies, as well as those who work with juveniles in the community, to cooperate in bringing effective healing resources to bear on the individualized needs of juveniles who need help. 12 notes