Waiving Juveniles to Adult Courts Waiver of juveniles to adult courts is a process used by prosecutors for youths that would benefit from the punishments received in adult correction systems. This mainly indicates incarceration in adult prisons. This process has become more common in today’s society due to the increase in juvenile violent crime rates. It has taken the courts decades to establish the criminal justice system and many believe in the reasons for the separation of juvenile and criminal courts. There have been Supreme Court decisions that have been implemented due to the concerns of what waivers can mean to juveniles. Reasons behind the increase in juvenile transfer, a couple case studies and the effects of transfers on juveniles
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In 1840, Britain had about 10,000 juveniles that were sent to prison, and by 1857 that increased by 2500 juveniles. Imprisonment was the primary reaction to the crimes occurring during that time period, but there was no separation between juvenile and criminal courts. After many attempts to separate the youth, institutes were designed all around the world, specifically to help reform youths rather than punish them. By 1860, “the institutions did not, however live up to their original principle and became little more than prisons for juveniles, placing more emphasis on discipline than efforts to reform the characters of their inmates” (Trepanier 307). This is due to the “punitive philosophy of criminal justice”. Reform institutes then took over the houses of refuges, which were the first institutes. Due to the criticism about the way things were being played out by the reformers, another form of intervention had to be made, which evolved into the juvenile …show more content…
When states decide to make juvenile transfers, the main factors that they look for are the offense and the age, but also the age of the juvenile at the time of the offense. The number of juveniles that are fifteen and younger that have been waived to criminal courts has doubled since 1985. The authors make it very clear that children who live in poverty are more likely to have contact with police at a young age and are more likely to be transferred to criminal courts. “…11 juvenile court jurisdictions reported a disproportionate number of juveniles in secure confinement came from low-income families” (Urban & Cooper
In 1840, Britain had about 10,000 juveniles that were sent to prison, and by 1857 that increased by 2500 juveniles. Imprisonment was the primary reaction to the crimes occurring during that time period, but there was no separation between juvenile and criminal courts. After many attempts to separate the youth, institutes were designed all around the world, specifically to help reform youths rather than punish them. By 1860, “the institutions did not, however live up to their original principle and became little more than prisons for juveniles, placing more emphasis on discipline than efforts to reform the characters of their inmates” (Trepanier 307). This is due to the “punitive philosophy of criminal justice”. Reform institutes then took over the houses of refuges, which were the first institutes. Due to the criticism about the way things were being played out by the reformers, another form of intervention had to be made, which evolved into the juvenile …show more content…
When states decide to make juvenile transfers, the main factors that they look for are the offense and the age, but also the age of the juvenile at the time of the offense. The number of juveniles that are fifteen and younger that have been waived to criminal courts has doubled since 1985. The authors make it very clear that children who live in poverty are more likely to have contact with police at a young age and are more likely to be transferred to criminal courts. “…11 juvenile court jurisdictions reported a disproportionate number of juveniles in secure confinement came from low-income families” (Urban & Cooper