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2100chapter13 Crime and Delinquency

The document provides an overview of the historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States from the 19th century to present day. It discusses the establishment of the first institutions for youth called Houses of Refuge in the early 19th century. It then covers the development of the juvenile court system in the late 19th century as an alternative to the adult criminal justice system. Finally, it outlines the typical process a youth goes through in the modern juvenile justice system from initial police contact through detention, adjudication, and various dispositional options such as probation, community programs, foster care, and institutional placement.

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Allyna Mendoza
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569 views47 pages

2100chapter13 Crime and Delinquency

The document provides an overview of the historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States from the 19th century to present day. It discusses the establishment of the first institutions for youth called Houses of Refuge in the early 19th century. It then covers the development of the juvenile court system in the late 19th century as an alternative to the adult criminal justice system. Finally, it outlines the typical process a youth goes through in the modern juvenile justice system from initial police contact through detention, adjudication, and various dispositional options such as probation, community programs, foster care, and institutional placement.

Uploaded by

Allyna Mendoza
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 13 Juvenile Justice

Historical Development of Juvenile Justice


From a historical perspective, juvenile delinquency and a separate justice process for juveniles are recent concepts.

juvenile delinquency
A special category of offense created for youths that is, in most U.S. jurisdictions, persons between the ages of 7 and 18.

The Development of Institutions for Youth


In the beginning of the 19th century, American cities were seeing tremendous growth, particularly because of immigration and, in later years, industrialization.

The Houses of Refuge


Houses of refuge were designed to be institutions where children could be reformed and turned into hard-working members of the community. A child could be committed to a house of refuge by a constable, by a parent, or on the order of a city alderman.

houses of refuge
The first specialized correctional institutions for youths in the United States.

The Houses of Refuge


Children in houses of refuge engaged in a daily regimen of hard work, military drills, and enforced silence, as well as religious and academic training.
After reformation, boys were frequently indentured to masters on farms or to tradesmen, and girls were placed in domestic service.

Probation
Boston shoemaker John Augustus, the father of probation, volunteered in 1841 to provide bail for and to supervise minor offenders.

The Development of the Juvenile Court


During the late 1800s, a new groups of reformers, the child savers, began to advocate a new institution to deal with youth problems: The juvenile court.

The Legal Context of the Juvenile Court


By the late 1800s, legal mechanisms for treating children differently and separately from adults were being put in place. The first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Cook County Illinois

The Legal Context of the Juvenile Court


The doctrine of parens patriae served as the foundation for the juvenile court

parens patriae
The legal philosophy justifying state intervention in the lives of children when their parents are unable or unwilling to protect them.

The Legal Reform Years: In re Gault


In the landmark case, In re Gault (1967), the U.S. Supreme Court gave juveniles a number of due process protections:
The right against self-incrimination A right to adequate notice of charges against them A right to confront and to cross-examine their accusers

continued

The Legal Reform Years: In re Gault


The right to assistance of counsel The right to sworn testimony and appeal

The Legal Reform Years: The Juvenile Court After Gault


The courts ruling in Gault and other cases not only increased procedural formality in juvenile court cases, but also shifted the traditional focus from the whole child to the childs act. From there, it was a short step to offensebased sentencing and punitive orientation.

The Legal Reform Years: The Juvenile Court After Gault


Juvenile court procedures are still characterized by an informality that most people would find unacceptable if it were applied to adults in criminal court.

The Formal Juvenile Justice Process


The police represent the primary gatekeepers to the formal juvenile justice process. 85 percent of delinquency cases referred to the juvenile courts come from police agencies. Status offenses are often referred by others.

status offenses
Acts that are not crimes when committed by adults but are illegal for children (for example, truancy or running away from home).

The Police Response to Juveniles


Typical responses that police officers employ in handling juvenile cases are: Warn and release Refer to parents Refer to a diversionary program operated by the police or another community agency Refer to court

Trends in Police Processing of Juveniles


In recent years, there has been a trend toward more formal processing of juveniles taken into police custody, particularly:

Referring more youths to juvenile court Handling fewer cases within police departments Referring more cases to criminal courts

Diversion
The goal of juvenile diversion programs is to respond to youths in ways that avoid formal juvenile justice processing.
Diversion usually occurs before adjudication.

Diversion
Diversion programs are based on the understanding that formal responses to youths who violate the law do not always protect the best interests of children or the community.

Detention
Sometimes a youth is held in secure detention facility during processing. There are three primary reasons for this practice: 1. To protect the community from the juveniles 2. To ensure that the juvenile appears at a subsequent stage of processing 3. To secure the juveniles own safety

Intake Screening
When the decision to arrest a youth is made, or a social agency such as a school alleges that an offense has occurred, the next step in the juvenile justice process is intake screening.

intake screening
The process by which decisions are made about the continued processing of juvenile cases. Decisions might include dismissing the case, referring the youth to a diversion program, or filing a petition.

Transfer, Waiver, or Certification to Criminal Court


Since the early days of the juvenile court, state legislatures have given juvenile court judges statutory authority to transfer certain juvenile offenders to criminal court.

transfer
The act or process by which juveniles who meet specific age, offense, and (in some jurisdictions) prior-record criteria are transferred to criminal court for trial; sometimes called waiver or certification.

The Adjudication Hearing


When a petition is filed at intake and the case is not transferred to criminal court, the next step is adjudication. Preliminary steps include:
Filing a petition Setting a hearing date Notifying the necessary partiesthe youth, the parents, and witnesses

The Adjudication Hearing


When charges specified in the petition are contested by a juvenile and the juvenile is represented by an attorney, another critical event often takes place before adjudication: a plea bargain

The Adjudication Hearing


There are two types of adjudications:
Contested Similar to a trial. Usually a bench adjudication, not a jury trial Uncontested A brief hearing in which the youth admits the charges.

Disposition
Disposition is the juvenile court equivalent of sentencing in criminal court.
Disposition
An order of the court specifying what is to be done with a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent. A disposition hearing is similar to a sentencing hearing in criminal court.

Disposition
Some of the options available are:
Probation Placement in a diversion program Restitution Community service Detention Placement in foster care
continued

Disposition
Placement in a long-term or short-term residential treatment program Placement with a relative Placement with the state for commitment to a state facility Or a combination of the above

Disposition
Because of recent heightened concerns about violent juvenile offenders, many states have legislatively redefined the juvenile courts mission by deemphasizing the goal of rehabilitation and stressing the need for public safety, punishment, and accountability.

Disposition
The philosophical focus has also changed from offender-based dispositions to offensebased dispositions, including:
Blended sentencesboth juvenile and adult sanctions Mandatory minimum sentences for specific types of offenders Extension of juvenile court dispositions beyond the offenders age of majority

Probation
Probation is the most frequently used correctional response for youths who are adjudicated delinquent in juvenile courts.

Probation
Probation officers usually perform four important roles in the juvenile justice process:
Performing the intake screening Conducting presentence investigations Supervising offenders Providing assistance to youths placed on probation

Probation
A recent trend in juvenile probation is the development of intensive-supervision (probation) programs, which in some jurisdictions involve home confinement.

Restitution
In practice, there are three types of restitution: Monetary restitutionThe youth pays cash to the victim for harm done. Victim-service restitutionThe youth provides some service to the victim. Community-service restitutionThe youth provides assistance to a community organization.

Wilderness Probation (Outdoor Adventure) Programs


Wilderness probation programs involve youths in a physically and sometimes emotionally challenging outdoor experience intended to help them:
Develop confidence in themselves Learn to accept responsibility for themselves and others Develop a relationship of trust with program staff

Day Treatment Programs


Day treatment programs provide treatment or services during the day and allow youths to return home at night.
It is believed that they are: Cost-effective Effective at protecting the community Can provide a range of services

Foster Homes
Foster homes are out-of-home placements intended to resemble, as much as possible, a family setting. It is usually used by a court when a youths home life has been particularly chaotic or harmful.

Group Homes
Group homes are open, nonsecure community-based facilities used either as an alternative to incarceration or to help youths transition to home.
Group homes are generally larger than foster homes, less impersonal than institutions, and less expensive than institutional placements.

Juvenile Correctional Institutions


Institutional programs are the most restrictive placements available to juvenile courts. However, juvenile institutions vary in the extent to which they focus on custody and control.

Juvenile Correctional Institutions


Secure facilities employ: perimeter fencing barbed wire surveillance devices monitoring of residents movements restricting residents access to the community Open facilities: have no perimeter fencing Leave entrances and exits unlocked rely heavily on staff

Juvenile Correctional Institutions


Juvenile correctional institutions vary:
Some are public, some are private Many are small40 residentssome house as many as 800 residents Some are co-ed Detention centers and diagnostic centers are designed for short-term stays
continued

Juvenile Correctional Institutions


Farms, ranches, forestry camps, and trainings schools are for long-term placements Types of programming and quality of care

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