Juvenile Justice Juvenile Justice Established a separateshadowparallel justice

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Justice Established a separate/shadow/parallel justice system for juveniles under the parens patriae philosophy (Child Saver Movement – 1899): Laws (status offenses) Police (youth aid divisions/truant officers) Courts (hearings and adjudications; In re; sealed records) Corrections: * Juvenile “prisons”/training schools * Juvenile probation * Juvenile parole

Juvenile Justice We struggle to deal with misbehaving youth, and youth do misbehave. There is a crime-bulge; crime is an age-specific phenomenon (16 -25). Limited preventative and curative capabilities, and justice intervention tends to make it worse. Takes a community raise a child, but sometimes even the communities fail. There are violent youth “out there, ” but also amazing “tunnelers” who defy the odds.

Juvenile Justice The children today love luxury. They show bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. They no longer rise when their enter the room. They contradict Their parents and tyrannize their teachers. Socrates

Juvenile Justice Steady even reduced crime/delinquency rates in some realms Violent youth-based crime surges in others: Past feeling (Columbine, Virginia Tech, etc) Oppositional culture of the streets/Code of the Streets Cross-racial nationwide gang activity: * 27, 000 gangs/800, 000 core members (not all juvys) * Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples, MS-13

What should be the appropriate response be? Protect society (macro; present tense) Arrest Prosecute Incarcerate The interest of the child (micro; future tense) Halfway houses Attention Centers Counseling Volunteer programs

Child Saver Movement…again Parens Patriae orientation/non-criminal procedures Status Offenses (laws that apply only to juveniles to help them) Juvenile/Youth-based police bureaus Juvenile Court Hearing v Trial Adjudicated v Convicted Sealed juvy court records Juvenile “training schools” (not prisons) Juvenile Probation and Parole Treatment is in the best interest of the child (future tense, micro perspective)

A Juvenile, definition by law Formerly until 21 years old Currently, until the 18 th birthday Minimum age is generally 8 Juvenile can be tried in adult court: Every state has different rules/procedures Most states have a minimum age to move a case to adult court, some don’t Relatively rare occurrence (7, 500/year or about . 3% of the cases sent to adult court)

Major Juvenile Justice Court Cases Even when a juvenile is moved into adult court, there are still some juvenile sentencing restrictions: Roper v. Simmons – the death penalty cannot be imposed on those who were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense Miller v. Alabama – no sentence of mandatory life without parole can be handed down for those who were under the age of 18 atthe time of the offense

Major Juvenile Justice Court Cases In re Gault: juvenile court proceedings must possess the elements of basic fundamental fairness; juveniles have the right: to a proper hearing to advance notification of that hearing and its purpose to be present at the hearing to confront/cross examine the accuser to be represented by legal counsel at the hearing to present evidence against self-incrimination to a formal ruling based on information presented in court to an appeal

Major Juvenile Justice Court Cases In re Winship: the standard proof in a juvenile court adjudication is beyond a reasonable doubt Mc. Keiver v Pennsylvania: there is no right to a jury trial for juveniles being adjudicated in juvenile court

Factors that effect police decision making in the context of juveniles Seriousness of the offense Prior record Demeanor (significant factor) Social class Basic demographics: Age Race Gender

Pediatric Criminology Wolfgang – cohort of 10, 000 boys born in Philadelphia in 1945: 1/3 moderate levels of delinquency 6% responsible for ½ of the crimes and 2/3 of the violent crime Current research: 6 to 10 % are persistent life course offenders 50% moderate levels (sporadic youthful ventures) 90% mild levels Why the persistence, why the desistence?

Causes of Delinquency Lack legitimate roles (anomie principle) Non-conformity Peer pressure (Johnson study) Lack of self control Biological factors Educational disparity Blank time issues Entertainment industry exposure Poverty

Causes of Delinquency…continued Insufficient positive family impacts: Parental indifference Parental violence Divorce Illegitimacy Single parent homes Blank time (again) Oppositional culture of the streets Chance game Immigration dynamics

Aggregate Juvenile Offending Risk Factors 1. Individual factors - low intelligence, low employability coefficient, poor school performance, limited involvement in positive extracurricular activities, hyperactivity, impulsiveness and risk taking, early antisocial behavior (including aggression and bullying), few bonds to conventional society (friends, girlfriends, parents, teachers, ministers, coaches). 2. Family factors - poor parental supervision, harsh and/or inconsistent discipline, physical abuse, child neglect, low parental involvement, parental conflict, broken/divorced families, single parent families, criminal parents, delinquent siblings. 3. Socio-economic factors - low family income, lack of roots/stability (high mobility coefficient), rent vs. own home, high aggregate socio-economic inequity coefficient in the community, limited opportunity structures

Aggregate Juvenile Offending Risk Factors… continued 4. Peer factors - delinquent peers, peer rejection, low popularity 5. Neighborhood factors - high crime neighborhoods, high delinquency/high crime schools, high aggregate socio-economic inequity coefficient in the community, limited community-wide opportunity structures 6. Biological factors - poor nutrition, hormonal imbalance

Aggregate Juvenile Offending Risk Factors… continued Decrease the impacts of the risk factors while simultaneously increasing the impacts of the protective factors in all of these areas (bonds to conventional society, extracurricular involvement, improve academics, improve nutrition, improve parenting, provide opportunities, reduce the aggregate socio-economic inequity coefficient), and the seriousness of crime will be reduced/diminished in the aggregate. See Monster by Cody Scott.

Juvenile Justice Reforms Increased socio-economic opportunity structures Blue-page policing Transform juvenile prisons truly into education and training centers (with an employment focus) Increase support for Project Head Start Increase support for Outward Bound-type programs: Develops confidence, self-assurance, teamwork, selflessness Expensive, some discrimination issues, transferability concerns

Juvenile Justice Reforms…continued Do NOT adopt Scared Straight programs Diet/nutrition/bio-criminological interventions Self sentencing Volunteer programs No mixed incarceration

Juvenile Justice Reforms…continued Youth oriented public relations law enforcement officer programs (Officer Friendly) Greater use of social service oriented probation Greater use of Community Courts/Teen Courts (victim-offender mediation modeling) Curfews are ineffective and are empirically invalid Bus ticket model (not a “reform” but done often)

Rehabilitation Program Implementation Needs: Farming Analogy 1. Internal conversion of the treated (fertile ground) 2. Good program (good seed) 3. Proper timing (palatable environment/plant in the Spring) 4. Capable program personnel (knowledgeable and skilled farmer) 5. Dedicated and persistent program personnel (hard working farmer) If any one of these is missing, the program fails/the crops fail.

Juvenile Justice Conclusions Ultimate answers lie outside the justice system (religion, schools, families) Justice systems are designed to buy time, not to serve as the foundations of a society: - more is being asked of the justice system than it was designed to do, and it is swaying under that weight - the justice system, which is so poorly designed, functions as well as it does due to the diligence and dedication of the professionals who fill its ranks

Persistence The key in this struggle is dedication and persistence. Things are hopeless, but we must be determined to make it otherwise, with dedication and persistence Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence is singularly omnipotent.