Reading reflection 7 - Essay Example

Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency According to the Youth Transition Funders Group, an organization that advocates for reforms in youth and juvenile justice, approximately 100,000 teens are held in jail on a daily basis in the United States. If juvenile institutions did not exist, these adolescents would become social misfits and still end up in jail. Based on such factors, I agree with the readings. There are several reasons cited for my agreement.

As we have seen, the juvenile justice system in the US is different from the justice system for adults since it focuses on education, prevention and rehabilitation more than incarceration, which is a constructive way forward. However, I agree that to the issue that there calls for reform since zero-tolerance policies have done little to help the countrys troubled youths (Springer & Roberts, 2011). Yes, these juvenile are all troubled teens. There is scientific confirmation that the teen years are a time of significant transition.

Adolescents tend to have significant neurological deficiencies that result in limitations of judgment. Research proposes that when teens are exposed to risk factors such as neglect, abuse and poverty among others, they are psychologically predisposition to violence. Adolescents as compared to competent adults are less morally culpable for what they do and are more capable of change and rehabilitation. However, let us look at the broad picture. We have a moral obligation to sustain our established institutions because they have created and they help maintain law and order.

The Institute for Juvenile Research was founded on the basis of aiding in dealing with this issue on a psychological basis. This has gone a long way in assisting the juvenile court systems since they come up with prevention strategies (Springer & Roberts, 2011). We are not in colonial times anymore so that we send youth home for a court-observed whipping. Today’s youths are highly sophisticated and with generally inadequate funding and fluctuating public support, the juvenile justice system has fallen short of meeting the challenge presented during the past decade.

The juvenile justice system needs to be revitalized so that it will reverse juvenile trends, offer effective treatment, ensure appropriate sanctions and once again rebuild public confidence. Since the first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Chicago, 1L, a variety of strategies has been pursued to address the particular issues posed by juvenile offenders. Results have been mixed and it’s critical for young people to be aware that they will be held accountable if the go against the law (Springer & Roberts, 2011).

I obviously concur with the argument that in some cases, these courts tend to go for ‘quick fixes’ like coercion and imprisonment but lately, they are focusing on long-term solutions. This is quite evident also with the Child Abuse Prevention and treatment Act of 1974 which we see it provided funding for demonstration programmes so as to test prevention, intervention and treatment strategies for child abuse and neglect, thus the establishment of National Center on Child abuse and neglect.

It is very evident that major strides have been undertaken in enhancing systems around juvenile justice and juvenile delinquency. It is necessary for the juvenile courts to determine those who will get into the juvenile delinquency courts. However, harsh penalties such us death sentencing are inhumane and utterly barbaric especially in this century where we regard ourselves as civilized (Springer & Roberts, 2011). No body has the right to kill someone and the law should not allow it especially when it comes to juvenile because as we have seen, they are at a critical stage in life.

Therefore, only measures of correcting these behaviors should be incorporated rather than doing away with them. In conclusion, my bases of argument as you have seen in this paper base on my reading of the brief overview of juvenile justice and juvenile delinquency, and therefore I concur with the readings. There are more advantages than disadvantages of having a juvenile court system (Springer & Roberts, 2011). ReferenceSpringer, D., & Roberts, A. (2011). Juvenile Justice and Delinquency. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.