The Societal Implications of Abolishing Juvenile Court
Nowadays, the juvenile crime is one of the crucial problems of each society. The first juvenile court was established in Chicago near one hundred years ago. The reason that has led to the appearance of the juvenile courts is that children are considerably different from adults and thus are more dutiful to rehabilitation (Young & Gainsborough, 2000).
The juvenile and adult courts differ greatly. Terminology is the first thing that needs to be mentioned. The term “crime” in the adult court equals to the term “act of delinquency” in the juvenile court. Nevertheless, the main difference between these two types of courts is their purpose. The most important aim of the juvenile court is rehabilitation of the individuals, their treatment. While the adult court aims at the due process and adequate punishment.
It is undeniable that there are also some differences in the court processes. The criminals are arrested, while the juveniles are taken into custody. The juvenile court has such an aspect as adjudication, which is also known as a finding hearing. A trial is the same issue in the adult court.
Notwithstanding, Young and Gainsborough (2000) affirm that “state juvenile codes have long permitted the most serious, chronic or older youthful offenders to be transferred to the adult criminal court by a process of judicial “waiver” following a hearing in front of a judge in juvenile court. However, in recent years there have been significant changes in the processes by which juvenile offenders end up in adult court” (p.4).
At present time, there is a problem of the societal implications of abolishing juvenile court. There exist a lot of pros and cons concerning this point. Furthermore, one should not forget that children are not adults, and they should not be tried as adults. Although justice insists on the juvenile court abolishing and trying the juvenile as adults, they will be afforded their full complex of constitutional rights. Whereas the refusal of full constitutional rights for the juveniles is a problem, the juvenile court's mission is to serve the best interests of the juveniles.
In conclusion, it can be said that although there are arguments for and against abolishment of the juvenile courts, the society should remember the purpose of this institution such as re-education. Another aim of the juvenile courts is to protect the juveniles from the criminal world they can come across while serving a sentence in a jail and support the future generation inside of the society. Unfortunately, statistics of the juveniles that were tried as adults states that they imitate neglect and cruelty, which they see among the criminals.