With the increasing amount of crime committed by juveniles, officials are trying to develop with ways to prevent such transgressions from occurring, usually when tried as juvenile the punishment is less severe. Some people believe that juveniles should be no less accountable than adults and treating them as such may help deter crime. “Others believe that they do not have an adult’s mental capacity to judge and allowing them to be tried as an adult is an unjust” (Mason, Chapman, Chang & Simons 2003). Such views have led to calls for change in the criminal justice system in order to increase the punishment for certain youth offenders. The subject of whether juveniles should be waived to adult criminal court has researchers divided on whether
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Is the policy itself the problem, or are there other mitigating factors that increase recidivism? There are many common factors as to why with the implementation of Proposition 21 recidivism rates have increased. Most of the research that has been done points to three major factors on why this policy has increased recidivism rates. Does the psychological trauma juveniles face while in an adult facility? Do lengthier sentences increase the chances that the juvenile will reoffend? Does the lack of resources increase the chances that a juvenile will reoffend? According to Howell & Hutto (2012), “the juvenile justice was developed with rehabilitation in mind, and not punishment” (p.782). This has not been the case in California where recidivism rates continue to increase and what was supposed to be a policy to rehabilitate juveniles continues to show the contrary. Propositions like Proposition 21 have been implemented all around the United States, because the public was tired of being victimized by …show more content…
In 2000 the voters of California responded to the rise of violent of juvenile crime by enacting what is known now as Proposition 21 (the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act). Proposition 21 was supposed to deter juveniles from committing crimes. In the past when a juvenile was arrested for any type of crime it was the probation department who decided whether the juvenile would be detained in a juvenile facility or if he/she would go home. The probation department made all the decisions regarding the juvenile in question, with the enactment of Proposition 21 all of this changed, and the Probation Department, will only be able to decide on cases that do not meet the criteria in which juveniles can be tried as adults. With Proposition 21 juveniles that are 14 years or older, that have previously committed a felony will automatically be waived to adult court. If a juvenile 14 years or older commits a serious crime such murder, a prosecutors can file a direct waiver to have that juvenile tried in adult
Is the policy itself the problem, or are there other mitigating factors that increase recidivism? There are many common factors as to why with the implementation of Proposition 21 recidivism rates have increased. Most of the research that has been done points to three major factors on why this policy has increased recidivism rates. Does the psychological trauma juveniles face while in an adult facility? Do lengthier sentences increase the chances that the juvenile will reoffend? Does the lack of resources increase the chances that a juvenile will reoffend? According to Howell & Hutto (2012), “the juvenile justice was developed with rehabilitation in mind, and not punishment” (p.782). This has not been the case in California where recidivism rates continue to increase and what was supposed to be a policy to rehabilitate juveniles continues to show the contrary. Propositions like Proposition 21 have been implemented all around the United States, because the public was tired of being victimized by …show more content…
In 2000 the voters of California responded to the rise of violent of juvenile crime by enacting what is known now as Proposition 21 (the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act). Proposition 21 was supposed to deter juveniles from committing crimes. In the past when a juvenile was arrested for any type of crime it was the probation department who decided whether the juvenile would be detained in a juvenile facility or if he/she would go home. The probation department made all the decisions regarding the juvenile in question, with the enactment of Proposition 21 all of this changed, and the Probation Department, will only be able to decide on cases that do not meet the criteria in which juveniles can be tried as adults. With Proposition 21 juveniles that are 14 years or older, that have previously committed a felony will automatically be waived to adult court. If a juvenile 14 years or older commits a serious crime such murder, a prosecutors can file a direct waiver to have that juvenile tried in adult