I need someone to add two pages and to references to a Juvenile Justice Paper I already wote?

Justice for Juveniles

I choose this topic because the crimes committed by juvenile are on the rise, and too many of our young children are committing adult crimes. An estimated 250,000 minors are prosecuted annually through the adult justice system. With such a high number, it is high time that the matter of punishing these underage offenders be discussed and sorted out. We need not ratchet and self-minded people, but professional and willing stakeholders to handle this. Drawing suggestions and experts globally, solutions to the challenge of dealing with the escalating numbers of young criminals should be invented.

From a personal perspective, I prefer minors not being tried as adults. Though most people are of the opinion that these criminals should receive harsher penalties proportional to their crimes in the adult criminal system, I beg to differ. While addressing law-enforcers, judicial officers and the public, I would argue out my case based on the fact that extensive research on the effect of stricter laws remains to be seen. However, majority of the reformers under the juvenile system are known to pursue a less complicated life after their shortcomings as compared to those in the adult system.

Two criminologists, Simon Singer and David McDowell conducted a research on juveniles in New York. Their conclusion that the threat of adult criminal sanctions has no effect on the levels of serious crime juveniles supports my opinion. In fact, the adult system makes little difference in deterring juveniles from reoffending but increases their chance of committing crimes (Scott & Steinberg, 2010).

Similarly, two social scientists, Linda Metsger and Eric Jensen, obtained non-conflicting results in Idaho. They carried out the effects of the Transfer Statute of 1981 passed in the state.

Young people who had committed serious crimes including mayhem, robbery, attempted murder, murder and forcible rape had been tried as adults. Shockingly, there was no evidence that their sentences had any effect as far as crime was concerned (Jensen & Metsger, 1994).

Large-scale studies show juveniles with harsher punishments tried as adults are not scared and tend to reoffend sooner and more often than those tried in the juvenile system (Bishop, Winner, Lanza-Kaduce & Frazier, 1997). Negative experiences and behavior in the adult prisons are adapted by the minors. From homosexuality, bullying and inhumane acts seen in prisons, the young minors tend to use others, once released, as ‘lab rats’ to see how it feels.

More than 50% of people believe crime, not the perpetrator’s age, should be used to determine the sentences. However, a Texas study conducted in 1996 found that juveniles in adult court received longer terms than they would have in juvenile courts (Ross, 2012). Interestingly, the juveniles were also likely to serve only a fraction of their sentences.

Rehabilitation in juvenile detention centers, as compared to punishment in adult centers, give the young criminals a second chance. They receive guidance and get an opportunity to reform after carefully thinking about their actions. However, light sentences do not teach kids lessons. This is simply because minors are more sophisticated at a younger age (Bishop, Winner, Lanza-Kaduce & Frazier, 1997).

Systems that have been put in place to rehabilitate juveniles are meant to benefit them. For example, a delinquent may be ordered to attend school or work as a way of keeping busy while in the juvenile detention. Professional counseling and community service are also programs in the juvenile systems. Such initiatives contribute to the reforming process of a delinquent.

Statistics indicate that black juveniles are more likely to be taken to adult courts than their white peers with comparable crimes. Simply, the system is more vulnerable to racism (Ross, 2012). Having all these in mind, is it really in the interest of justice and these delinquents to try them in the adult system? Is there any gain or is it the feeling of punishment that engulfs these young criminals?

Critics may and have in numerous cases opposed the juvenile system but it remains to be the most efficient and unchallenged until a better one is initiated.

References:

Bishop, D., Winner, L., Lanza-Kaduce, L. & Frazier, C. (1997). The transfer of juveniles to criminal court: Reexamining recidivism over the long term. A journal on Crime and Delinquency.

Jensen, E. & Metsger, L. (1994). “A Test to the Deterrent Effect of the Legislative Waiver on Violent Juvenile Crime. Crime and Justice Journal.

Ross, R. (2012). Juvenile in Justice. Richard Ross Photography publishers.

Scott, E. & Steinberg, L. (2010). Rethinking Juvenile Justice. Harvard University press.