Juveniles who are adjudicated in the criminal courts, as opposed to juvenile courts, are faced with more obstacles. Since there are different processing procedures between the two jurisdictions, these juveniles are affected differently when released into society. There is also concern that these juveniles are not afforded adequate education opportunities when placed into the custody of adult corrections facilities. Another concern is the debate about whether or not processing these juveniles as adults plays a role in the deterrence from criminal activities.
There are different procedures that juveniles will encounter when being tried as an adult as opposed to being tried in the juvenile courts. When juveniles are arrested they are booked in jails while law enforcement officers continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding their arrest (Champion, 2004). In situations where juveniles have committed felonies, they may be processed as adults immediately without further investigation based upon mitigating facts (Champion, 2004). Adult offenders are also booked upon arrest, but will appear before a judge to determine whether bail will be permitted, where as juveniles are not given the right to bail based upon parens patriae (Champion, 2004). In both instances, adults and juveniles may be able to negotiate plea bargains based upon the charges in order to be rewarded a more lenient punishment. If there is an absence of a plea bargain, the case will go to trial proceedings where charges are formally listed, a plea is entered into the courts, and a date is established for trial proceedings. These trials may end with a not guilty verdict or a conviction where a punishment will be handed down based upon the severity of the crime (Champion, 2004).
In the juvenile justice system, there is a parallel pattern to the criminal justice system. In these proceedings the juvenile may be classified and processed based upon the severity of the criminal act that has been committed (Champion, 2004). The juvenile is also booked in this case and is not permitted bail. The charges that have been brought against the juvenile may be dropped at any point during the processing and the juvenile may be released to the parents or in the care of a community facility or other guardian (Champion, 2004).
There is an effect, upon release, of the juvenile who has been charged and punished as an adult (Risks, 2002). Since these juveniles are exposed to the harsher conditions and violent adult offenders within the criminal justice system, they tend to be worse off after their incarceration period than they were prior to being incarcerated (Risks, 2002). These juveniles are subjected to brutal harassment, sexual abuse, and assault within adult correction facilities. These juveniles also have a higher suicide rates than those who are incarcerated in juvenile facilities. These juveniles also have access to rapists, murders, and robbers and lack the presence of a positive role model within the confines of the correctional facility (Risks, 2002). By having these juveniles exposed to such individuals, they are more likely to commit crimes of these natures than others who have been locked up in juvenile facilities (Risks, 2002).
When juveniles are placed into these adult facilities, they are not provided with the myriad of treatment opportunities that they would have received in a juvenile setting (CSPV, 2005). This means that juveniles, who have a mental illness, may never receive treatment or diagnosis for this illness because of the inadequate opportunities. These juveniles may not have sufficient access to therapy or counseling services which results in the lack of rehabilitation. These juveniles who leave these adult facilities have an increased rate of recidivism and commit much more violent offenses than juveniles who remain in the juvenile system (CSPV, 2005). While this is only true for some facilities, there are adult facilities that have a myriad of treatment and educational opportunities for juvenile offenders.
It is the right of the juvenile offender to be offered educational opportunities while incarcerated (Austin, Johnson, & Gregoriou, 2000). Some of these programs that are offered to juveniles while in adult facilities are treatment as well as educational. These programs are:
- Elementary and Secondary Education,
- Special Education,
- Vocational/Technical Education,
- GED Courses,
- Post-Secondary Courses,
- Counseling,
- Psychiatry and Psychological Treatment,
- Family Treatment ,
- Employment counseling,
- Health and Nutrition education,
- Aids and STD Awareness and,
- Youth Drug and Alcohol, Sex Offender, and Violent offender treatment programs (Austin, et. al, 2000).
The question about whether or not juveniles are deterred from criminal activity since the implementation of charging juveniles as adults is answered with a yes. This deterrence has not always been the case. For example, when New York first lowered the age a juvenile can be charged as an adult for murder to 13, there was relatively no change (Wuetcher, 1996). Today, in the majority of states, there has been a significant decrease in the amount of violent crimes for which juveniles can be charged as adults.
When juveniles are aware of the risk of being charged and punished as adults, there are conflicting opinions on the effect of deterrence. In Oregon, Measure 11 was passed in 1994. Measure 11 was a law that required juveniles fifteen years of age or older to be charged as adults when the juvenile committed violent crimes (Golden, 2000). The study suggested that juveniles, in Oregon, were aware of the consequences of the crimes that fell under Measure 11 and therefore; refrained from committing these types of crimes. Also, the State of Oregon saw a decrease of twenty-five percent (Golden, 2000).
In conclusion, there are benefits and consequences to charging juveniles as adults. The benefits would be keeping these juveniles behind bars longer and keeping society safer. The consequences would be further psychological and emotional damages, higher recidivism rates, and possibly higher unemployment rates due to lack of educational opportunities for these juveniles. One can see that there are programs for rehabilitating and educating juveniles within the walls of adult correctional facilities. Also, when juveniles are aware that they may be charged and punished as an adult, they tend to refrain from committing heinous acts and follow the norms and laws of society.
References
Austin, J., Johnson, K.D., & Gregoriou, M. (2000). Juveniles in adult prisons and jails: a national assessment. Retrieved November 24, 2005 from
http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/bja/182503.pdf.
Champion, D.J. (Eds.). (2004). The juvenile justice system: delinquency, processing, and the law.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
CSPV. CSPV fact sheet: judicial waivers: youth in adult courts. Retrieved November 24, 2005
from http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/publications/factsheets/cspv/FS-008.html .
Golden, D. (2000). Does Measure 11 deter kids from committing crimes? Retrieved
November 24, 2005 from http://www.crimevictimsunited.org/measure94/golden.htm .
Risks. The risks juveniles face when they are incarcerated with adults. Retrieved
November 24, 2005 from http://www.cjcj.org/pubs/risks/risks.html .
Wuetcher, S. (1996). Adult justice for kids: it’s not working. Retrieved November 24, 2005 from http://www.buffalo.edu/reporter/vol27/vol27n25/n3.html
