Juvenile Court System and Sanyika Shakur - Essay Example

The juvenile court system emphasizes the corrective measures of juvenile criminals rather than punishment. The history of Sanaika Shakur is a better example to analyze the effectiveness of the juvenile court system.

The juvenile court system and Sanyika Shakur
“The juvenile criminal justice system operates according to the premise that youth are fundamentally different than adults, both in terms of the level of responsibility and potential for rehabilitation. The treatment and successful reintegration of youth into society are the primary goals of the juvenile justice system, along with overall public safety” (Juvenile Law) The story of Sanyika Shakur is well matched for analyzing the effectiveness of the juvenile court system.

He started his criminal activities at the age of 13. He has been imprisoned and claimed that he has changed his character and criminal behavior after a prolonged stay in the prison. The police and the court believed that the corrective measures taken in the prison were successful and released him on parole. He has written an autobiography also which explains how he started his criminal behavior and the factors which affect him to engage in criminal activities. All these tactics were just to convince the court to get parole. But even on parole, he has committed serious crimes which forced the police to arrest him again and again.

The effectiveness of the juvenile court system has been questioned by many citing the example of Sanyika Shakur. Many people believe that there are people who are born criminals like Sanyika Shakur. For them, the current juvenile justice system is not effective. The main objective of the juvenile justice system is to prevent future illegal activities from juveniles and for that purpose most of the punishments for juvenile crimes were limited to sending the juveniles to juvenile homes where lessons for becoming good citizens of a country will be transferred to the children under the strict guidance of the coaching staff. But criminals like Sanyika Shakur, often try to utilize the loopholes of the juvenile court system to escape from harsh punishments.

Conclusions
Juvenile criminals should be allowed to correct themselves and for that purpose, the court should send them to proper juvenile homes to correct them. At the same time, the juvenile court system must carefully watch the progress of a juvenile under their supervision before allowing them parole or probation. Sanyika Shakur’s case should be properly evaluated by the juvenile court system to make necessary changes in its policies and procedures. Read More