Juvenile vs. Adult Justice System Essay

Today, the debate over the development and change of the modern juvenile justice system raises the problem of its adaptation to the specific environment, where the juvenile justice system is implemented. To put it more precisely, the juvenile justice system is traditionally different from the adult justice system. However, today, the youth tends to commit serious crimes, which raise the public criticism in relation to the modern juvenile justice system because the punishment of juveniles is considered by average citizens irrelevant to the crime they commit. In such a case, violent crimes committed by juveniles provoke a particularly severe criticism of the modern juvenile justice system. However, the public is often unaware of the substantial difference between juvenile and adult offenders and negative effects of the severe punishment of juvenile offenders may be unpredictable and even worse compared to the current effects of the punitive measures undertaken in relation to juvenile offenders. At the same time, the change of the punishment of juvenile offenders will lead to the consistent change of the entire juvenile justice system and making it similar to, if not duplicate of, the adult justice system. At this point, it is important to dwell upon key differences between juvenile and adult justice system to reveal the full extent to which norms of the adult justice system are not applicable to the juvenile justice system, in spite of the public demands and public opinion in relation to certain crimes being committed by juveniles.
Public and privacy
Juvenile justice system is characterized by the high concerns of juvenile offenders’ privacy. To put it more precisely, the information concerning juvenile offenders, their background and other private information is always subject to protection from the part of law enforcement agencies. At any rate, the public does not have free access to any records related to juvenile offenders and their crimes. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that today limitations are placed on public access to juvenile records because of the belief that juvenile offenders can be successfully rehabilitated, and to avoid their unnecessary stigmatization. Court proceedings may be confidential to protect privacy (Reiman, 2006). In such a way, courts protect the privacy of juvenile offenders and consider the limited access to the private information concerning juvenile offenders.
In stark contrast, the adult justice system has quite different attitude to offenders. Even though the privacy of adult offenders is protected, the public still has a wider access to the private information and to cases concerning their offenses. To put it more precisely, open public access to criminal records is required, and all court proceedings are open to the public (Hayward, 2004). In such a way, adult offenders are less protected in terms of their privacy compared to adult offenders.
Arrest and intake
The arrest and intake is also quite a complicated procedure, which becomes particularly difficult when a juvenile offender is involved. In fact, law enforcement agencies have limited opportunities to arrest a juvenile and hold him or her in jail as is the case of adult offenders. Law enforcement officers have limited influence on the limitation of freedom of juvenile offenders. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that the existing legislation provides juvenile offenders with larger opportunities compared to adult offenders to avoid arrest and intake. On the other hand, the thorough control over juvenile offenders from the part of their parents or other adults, who supervise them and control their behavior. The main point is to put juvenile offenders under the control, whereas adult offenders are often restricted in their freedom being under arrest and intake. In fact, the main difference in the arrest and intake procedure between juvenile offenders and adults is that juvenile offenders are unlikely to go to jail, whereas adult offenders can be detained and kept intake, if they represent a threat to the public safety.
First court appearance, bail
The first court appearance and bail also play an important part in the juvenile and adult justice system. In this regard, requirements to adult offenders are also consistently stricter compared to juvenile offenders. To put it more precisely, the juvenile justice system provides law enforcement agencies with a relatively limited set of tools to restrict the freedom of juvenile offenders and draw them to the courtroom. In actuality, the law enforcement has the option of preventative detention – detaining a youth for his or her own protection or the community’s protection (Siegel, 2003). At the same time, the preventive detention should occur on the consent of parents of the juvenile offender and if the offender needs protection or the community needs the protection from the offender.
In this regard, the adult justice system provides adult offenders with the possibility to apply bond or bail. In fact, defendants have the right to apply for bond or bail. At first glance, adult offenders have larger opportunities to use bail or bond compared to juvenile offenders but still they can be detained on different pretexts and for different reasons and the protection of the offender or the community is not the only reason for the detention of the offender. In such a way, adult offenders are more vulnerable to the arrest and they can be drawn to the first court appearance, whereas juvenile offenders have larger opportunities to avoid the first court appearance, whereas the detention of juvenile offenders occurs only in case of the necessity of their or community protection.
Pre-adjudication programs
Furthermore, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the juvenile justice system has larger options for the pre-adjudication programs. What is meant here is the fact that, unlike adult offenders, juveniles have larger options in this regard. At this point, it is possible to refer to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA), which resulted in dramatic changes—mandating the removal of juveniles from adult jails and police lock-ups, requiring a parallel system of juvenile detention centers for those who needed to be held securely, and forbidding the secure confinement of status offenders and children in need of supervision (Hayward, 2004). In such a way, the practice of using juvenile detention centers was rejected and replaced by other programs, which introduced less restrictive measures on the freedom of juvenile offenders and put them into less strict conditions. In this respect, it is possible to distinguish three major pre-adjudication programs juvenile offenders may be involved in, including shelters, holdover programs, and home detention. First, shelters are widely-used and involve the community assistance to juvenile offenders’ detention. In terms of this program, some communities have non-secure, temporary residential facilities intended for children removed from their homes in the initial stages of child protective services investigations or for children who may be picked up by police as status offenders (Reiman, 2006). As for holdover programs, they also aim at securing the position of juveniles. Holdover program requires a room (this might be located in a police station or sheriff’s department, or some other public facility) and someone (either a volunteer or part-time employee) who can provide continuous supervision of a youth for a few hours or overnight pending transportation (Reiman, 2006). Finally, the home detention is another program that may be applied in terms of the pre-adjudication. In actuality, the home detention serves as an alternative to placement in a secure juvenile detention center for youths who do not appear to require secure confinement but cannot just be released prior to their court hearing without some form of supervision (Siegel, 2003).
In this regard, the adult justice system is quite different because offenders are normally sent to jail, where they stay until the end of the trial. Naturally, offenders have the right to bond and bail, but they cannot always use them effectively and a judge can limit the possibility for bond or bail. In such a way, adult offenders turn out to be in an inferior position compared to juvenile offenders because they have consistently more limited pre-adjudication programs.
Defendant rights
At the same time, it is important to dwell upon defendants rights in juvenile and adult justice system. In actuality, the juvenile justice system provides defendants with larger opportunities to protect their position and avoid a severe punishment. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that the juvenile justice system follows a psychological casework approach, taking into account a detailed assessment of the youth’s history in order to meet his or her specific needs. The juvenile offender faces a hearing, rather than a trial, which incorporates his social history as well as legal factors (Hayward, 2004). As for the adult justice system, it should be said that defendants in the criminal justice system are put on trial, which is based largely on legal facts. In such a way, the wide gap between juvenile and adult justice system can be traced because the defense in adult justice system is grounded on sheer facts, whereas in juvenile justice system the defense involves consistently psychological factors.
Trail procedures
As for the trial procedure, it is worth mentioning the fact that the juvenile justice system limits the application of a jury in a trial. At any rate, not all states afford juveniles the right to a jury trial (Hayward, 2004). As for the adult justice system, all defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial. In this regard, adult offenders seem to be in an advantageous position but, on the other hand, the refusal from jury trail makes trails less public.
Sentencing
Sentencing in juvenile justice system is also quite different from adult justice system. A juvenile offender is judged “delinquent” rather than “guilty.” Because of the individualized nature of the juvenile justice system, sentencing varies and may cover a wide range of community-based and residential options. The disposition is based on the individual’s offense history and the severity of the offense, and includes a significant rehabilitation component. The disposition can be for an unspecified period of time; the court can send a youth to a certain facility or program until it is determined he is rehabilitated, or until he reaches the age of majority. The disposition may also include a restitution component and can be directed at people other than the offender, for example his parents (Reiman, 2006).
In the adult justice system, a defendant is found “innocent” or “guilty.” The offender is sentenced to a specified period of time which is determined by the severity of the offense, as well as the defendant’s criminal history (Reiman, 2006).
Parole
In the juvenile justice system, parole combines surveillance with activities to reintegrate the juvenile into the community. In contrast, in adult justice system, parole is primarily based on surveillance and monitoring of illicit behavior.
Punishment and rehabilitation
The juvenile justice system aims at the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. The underlying rationales of the juvenile court system are that youth are developmentally different from adults and that their behavior is malleable. Rehabilitation and treatment, in addition to community protection, are considered to be primary and viable goals (Reiman, 2006). As for the adult justice system, it mainly focuses on the punishment of offenders, although rehabilitation is not considered a primary goal in the criminal justice system, which operates under the assumption that criminal sanctions should be proportional to the offense. Deterrence is seen as a successful outcome of punishment (Reiman, 2006).
Conclusion
Thus, differences between juvenile and adult justice system are substantial and justice is less punitive in relation to juveniles compared to adults.