Juvenile Justice In America


In the year 1899 a juvenile court or in laymen terms a court for the young was invented and introduced in the state of Illinois. This was to recognize the offenders who were either minors or did not qualify in the actual running of the court. Over the years many states all over the world have introduced a juvenile court an emulated laws on it to ensure that even the youth abides to the rules at all times.

Customary Juvenile Justice

If you are wondering what qualifies for a juvenile case is when the offender is above eighteen years of age. However, there are some states that do not consider an offense an official juvenile case unless the offender is either twenty one or more. Though back in the day the law was introduced rather informally and at a very basic level just to the offenders and the family, now it has been made an official thing. Not only has the momentum of the offences gotten higher, so have the punishments.

Like all the other branches of law even this one is governed by its own legislation that protects rights of juveniles. All of this was immensely significant to ensure that both:

  1. The minors were being punished for an offence that asked to be taken and treated seriously in a court of law.
  2. To ensure that these minors had proper representation as do adults. This was made sure in the year 1967.

Several other aspects of this law were also introduced such as right to trials and other protections. All the other basic rules were kept the same as adult law.

Changed Opinions On Juvenile Justice

Over the years juvenile justice has evolved and changed according to the time and the evolution in the crimes being committed. The policies that were introduced in the later 20th century focused on imprisoning juvenile offenders. All of this was a very smart and legal way to ensure that even the young offenders were able to ensure and implement the basic difference between right and wrong.

Several aspects play a major role as to why a young individual commit certain crimes. This is to see the effect of certain environment and the mental perception of a minor that forces him to commit a certain crime. Thus, if a juvenile ever finds himself trapped in the adult justice system, advocates who favor reform ensure they have his back by demanding more protection with regards to their rights as a citizen.

Rehabilitation For Young Offenders

With the other reinforcements, now even the implementation of rehabilitation is taken into consideration.

Over the years the matter of juvenile law and its implementation has gained concerns all over the world. People are struggling to come up with proactive way to ensure the social security of both minors and adults.