Mainstream and Crosscurrents, Second Edition Chapter 14 Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 2 Childhood and the law  Increased availability of education  Poor laws  Chancery courts  Parens patriae Factors that improved the status of children …

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 3 Childhood and the law  Juveniles in the early United States  Houses of refuge  Juvenile court

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 4 Childhood and the law Juveniles in the early US  In colonial America, little distinction was made between the offenses committed by adults and those committed by children.  Parents were responsible for the actions of their children.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 5 Childhood and the law Houses of refuge  The first house of refuge was established in New York City in  The houses of refuge were abandoned by the end of the 19 th century in favor of newer reforms.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 6 Childhood and the law Juvenile court The major differences between modern adult criminal court and juvenile court:  Focus on rehabilitation  Informal hearing  Individualized justice  Private hearings

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 7 Children and society Juvenile issues today …  Violence  Alcohol and drug problems  Sexuality and sex abuse  Runaway and kidnapped children  Anomie and nihilism

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 8 Children and society Types of youths in the juvenile justice system  Incorrigible children  Dependent children  Neglected children  Status offenders  Delinquent children

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 9 Children and society Juvenile delinquency in context Institutions and issues connected to juvenile delinquency …  Schools  Poverty  Faulty families  Neighborhoods

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 10 The juvenile justice system  Entering the juvenile justice system  Prehearing detention  Intake  Determining jurisdiction  Adjudicatory hearing  Disposition  Aftercare

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 11 The juvenile justice system Entry  From schools, parents, or child welfare agencies  From law enforcement agencies Cases are inserted into the system by a process called a referral…

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 12 The juvenile justice system Prehearing detention Law enforcement agencies are discouraged from holding juvenile delinquents in adult jails while the case is processed.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 13 The juvenile justice system Intake  A major gatekeeping decision point  A finding by the intake officer that sufficient reason exists to pass the case forward is enough to keep the case under the purview of the court.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 14 The juvenile justice system Determining jurisdiction The states have a variety of mechanisms for deciding whether to keep the case in juvenile court or transfer it to adult court.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 15 The juvenile justice system Adjudicatory hearing  Held to determine whether the juvenile committed the offenses  The equivalent of a criminal trial  Conducted by a judge who also acts as a jury

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 16 The juvenile justice system Disposition Comparable to the handing down of the sentence in adult court, the disposition can take two paths …  Residential placement  Non-residential referral

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 17 The juvenile justice system Aftercare Aftercare may include …  Drug or alcohol treatment  Counseling  Attending school  Employment

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 18 The juvenile justice system Aftercare Juveniles can be diverted from the system at many points.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 19 Problematic issues in juvenile justice today  Chronic offenders  Youth gangs  Conditions of youth confinement  Treating children as adults  Zero tolerance

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 20 Problematic issues in juvenile justice today Chronic offenders  A small percentage of youths are long- term, chronic, consistent lawbreakers.  Research: These youths share factors such as behavior problems, poor grades, drug or alcohol use, family problems, abuse or neglect, and patterns of stealing or running away.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 21 Problematic issues in juvenile justice today Youth gangs  Membership in a youth gang is a predictor of chronic delinquency.  Race is a dimension of many gangs.  Females are also active in gangs.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 22 Problematic issues in juvenile justice today Conditions of youth confinement  Adult prisons  Ranches and camps  Boot camp prisons  Traditional training schools

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 23 Problematic issues in juvenile justice today Treating children as adults  Judicial waiver: a judge sends the juvenile to adult court.  Direct filing: a prosecutor may file charges in either juvenile or adult court.  Statutory exclusion: automatically excludes some juveniles from juvenile court.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 24 Problematic issues in juvenile justice today Zero tolerance Policies in which the strict letter of the law or rule is followed without question or room for individual discretion on the part of the authority.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 25 The future of juvenile justice  Resources will be diverted from programs that serve young people to programs that serve the elderly.  Programs for children will continue to become privatized.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 26 The future of juvenile justice  The juvenile justice system will continue to transfer young offenders to criminal courts.  The age of dependency will continue to increase.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 27 The future of juvenile justice  Technology can level the playing field.  Trends suggest that the juvenile justice system may be shifting its emphasis away from the punish-or- treat dichotomy.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 28 Questions What are the four major differences between modern adult criminal courts and juvenile courts? How is the dark figure of crime related to juvenile delinquency? What rights do juvenile defendants have in common with adult defendants?