Assignment 1: juvenile justice or injustice

Not all offenses or offenders are the same. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach to criminal justice does not work. Violent offenders have different correctional and supervision needs compared to substance abuse offenders.

Female offenders can have different correctional requirements compared to male offenders. Similarly, young offenders and juveniles have different correctional and supervision needs compared to their adult counterparts.

Although it has not always been the case, our current criminal justice system has a separate juvenile justice system aimed at serving the juvenile offenders. One of the primary differences between the juvenile and adult justice systems is the lack of a punitive component in the former.

It may be argued that the noncriminal, nonpunitive approach that most juvenile justice systems employ are ineffective and need to be changed to address present needs of the criminal justice system.

For varying reasons, it has become more and more common to find juvenile offenders being processed in the adult judicial system.

In a minimum of 250 words, post to the Discussion Area your response to the following:

• Is our current juvenile system functioning as it should? Should juvenile offenders be treated differently from adult offenders, and if so, are we correct in having an independent, separate, juvenile court system?
• When is it appropriate, if ever, to try a juvenile as an adult in a criminal case?
• Should the juvenile court system take on a more punitive role, as some critics have suggested? In what instances can the justice system take a punitive role?
• In what way are the roles of an adult offender probations officer different from those of a probations officer who operates in the juvenile justice system? How does the model of punishment (Justice Model or Social Services Model) applied in a case affect the role of the probations officer?