NCJ Number
143298
Journal
Lay Panel Magazine Volume: 28 Dated: (April 1993) Pages: 6-12
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The author contends that the American juvenile justice system has abandoned the concept of rehabilitation and that the penal system's perceived failure to deter recidivism has played an important role in the increasingly punitive nature of American justice.
Abstract
In most U.S. jurisdictions, juveniles are prosecuted in the juvenile court. They cannot be found guilty; rather, they are adjudicated delinquent. Juveniles so adjudicated may then be placed in the custody of a State authority or agency which will attempt treatment until they are believed to be ready to return to society or attain an age beyond the reach of juvenile authorities. Legislators, the law enforcement community, and the general public have become dissatisfied with the juvenile justice system, and public concern over serious juvenile crime has increased. The author looks at recent statutory changes and proposals that respond to public fear and concern over the increase in violent juvenile crime but that compromise the rehabilitative goal traditionally sought by the juvenile justice system. Alternatives to the transfer and exclusion of juveniles are offered, particularly extended commitment laws that keep dangerous juveniles off the street until they are rehabilitated, regardless of age, and a reduction in the shield of confidentiality that has traditionally surrounded the American juvenile justice system. The end goal of attaining meaningful rehabilitation and minimizing recidivism is stressed.