Juvenile Delinquency in the USA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Juvenile Delinquency in the USA - Research Paper Example The author of the paper states that are the expectations of the public that crime instances done by young offenders will continue to increase anyway no matter what actions and prevention methods the public and the society as a whole try to carry out in order to thwart the prevalence of offenses and criminality. These prospects have their foundations on the forecast of the U.S. Census Bureau which projects that the crimes committed by the young, aged 15-17 - the age group responsible for 30 percent of the offenses incurred by the juveniles - will increase 20 percent by this year (2007) (Ferro 2003). What is worse, the Office of Juvenile Justice reported that the juvenile offenders or children in conflict with the law, who have been relocated into the adult criminal justice system, have escalated in number. In addition, near the turn of the previous century, 40 states including the District of Columbia passed legislation, which eased legal constraints in trying juveniles as adults in t heir respective jurisdictions (Griffin et al. 1998). In order for us to understand why this occurrence cause alarm on the public and the on our justice system, we have to fully comprehend the underlying principles with regards trying juvenile offenders in adult courts which employ adult criminal laws and statutes. Likewise, it is necessary to understand the legal principles that govern young offenders and when these juveniles should not be tried as adults. All states in the United States of America including the District of Columbia permit adult criminal prosecution of juveniles under definite conditions. Under the waiver provisions, for instance, decisions of the transfer of the offender from a juvenile institution to an adult court or adult criminal institution is left to the State's juvenile courts, but clearly provides that young offenders may not be prosecuted as adult criminals unless a juvenile court judge has ordered the transfer (Griffin et al. 1998). The provisions vary fr om one another in the extent of flexibility with which the conditions allow the courts. However, under these provisions, a case against a juvenile must at least originate in juvenile court and cannot be directed anywhere else, unless there is a formal approval from juvenile court judge. In the Direct File provisions, the prosecutor determines whether to commence a case against a young offender in juvenile court or in criminal (adult) court. In Statutory Exclusion, criminal courts are bestowed jurisdiction on the classes and levels of cases involving juveniles. Under this provision, a State legislature fundamentally predetermines the question of criminal prosecution and carries out the decision, bypassing the authority of the prosecutor and the court (Roberts 2004 & Griffins 1998). Nevertheless, these provisions are bestowed to juvenile offenders under specific conditions. Most states in the US contend that the prosecution of the young offenders in adult criminal courts is a legislat ive remedy and a response to the growing violent offenses, but surprising numbers of laws in many states in the country authorize criminal trial even for non-violent offenses. Presently, 21 states permit adult prosecution of juveniles charged of offenses related to property as, for instance, arson and burglary while 19 states afforded provisions in their statutes authorizing prosecution of young people in conflict with the law - whose offenses are drug related - in adult court. Forty-six of the 50 states in this country permit issuance of a waiver for a variety of offenses including personal, property, violent and non-violent (Ferro 2003).