Juvenile Tried as Adults
Juvenile Crime There has always been alarm and despair over escalating juvenile crime. In the 1950s there were reports about the mushrooming problems with youthful gangs in the big cities. In the 1960s we began to hear about a surge of juvenile crime in areas that had been regarded as virtually crime free. In the suburbs as well as the inner cities, youngsters were dropping out of school, using drugs and committing crimes. In the 1970s and 1980s, juvenile court dockets became increasingly jammed with criminal cases. According to the Department of Justice, the percentage increases in arrests from 1985 to 1994 have been greater for juveniles than for adults. During 1994 alone, 2.7 million juveniles were arrested. During the latter part of this century, juvenile courts that customarily provided social services in order to rehabilitate rather than punish lawbreakers were faced with an onslaught of children who were not simply wayward youths, but hardened repeat offenders. The 1980s witnessed an increasingly desperate outcry for courts to take more extreme measures to contain juvenile crime, which is assuming ever more serious forms. It is almost a daily occurrence to turn on the nightly news and hear stories of ever increasing youths
committing crimes. Even more alarming are the ages of these offenders. In Lake Station, Indiana, three first-grade students were plotting to kill a classmate. They even went so far as to draw a map of where the slaying was to take place. In California a six year old boy was charged with attempted murder of a 3 month old baby. In Southern California, three 17 year old girls were charged with false imprisonment, conspiracy, aggravated mayhem and torture when they held a 15-year-old runaway against her will and tortured her for hours. In Mount Morris Township, Michigan, a first-grader shot and mortally wounded another 6 year old one day after the two had quarreled in the schoolyard. When police arrest 14- and 15-year-olds who shrug off cold-blooded, unprovoked murder as a rite of passage, the rational public response is fear and anger. When 6 year olds shoot each other, the rational public response is shock. What makes a 6-year old point a gun at another and pull the trigger? How does a 6-year old know how to pull the trigger? They may understand from all the attention they receive afterwards, that what they did was naughty, but do they understand the gravity or seriousness of their actions? There is a presumption in the law that a child 6 years old is not criminally responsible and cannot form the intent to kill that is necessary for criminal prosecutions. Children at that age can be fighting with each other one minute and hugging each other the next. What causes these juveniles to commit such crimes? Some theorize they are affected by problems such as poverty, family breakdowns, neglect, alcoholism and poor education. Upon identifying negative environmental factors, many regard delinquency as a normal adaptive way for the child to cope. A sensible theory is that the child's personality unfolds in response to the people and events around him. A typical response might be that the delinquent behavior represents a neglected child's attempt to compensate for attention that he did not receive in other ways. They may believe the child turned to drugs because of exposure to their parents drinking and pill taking and this alleviated their own anxiety or depression. According to the American Psychological Association, violence is a serious possibility in children who exhibit the following warning signs: „« Loss of temper on a daily basis „« Frequent physical fighting „« Significant vandalism or property damage „« Increase in use of drugs or alcohol „« Increase in risk-taking behavior „« Detailed plans to commit acts of violence „« Announcing threats or plans for hurting others „« Enjoying hurting animals „« Carrying a weapon The potential for violence exists in other children, the group says. Children who are in a gang or even who have a strong desire to be in a gang are at risk. If they start withdrawing from friends and usual activities, they are at risk. Even youngsters who suddenly start getting bad grades could be prone to violence. There is no formula for pinpointing exactly who will become violent. Numerous studies have been performed however, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has focused on certain factors that pinpoint violent behavior. These include: „« Previous aggressive or violent behavior „« Being the victim of physical abuse and/or sexual abuse „« Exposure to violence in the home and/or community „« Having a parent who is violent „« Heavy exposure to violence in TV and movies „« Use of drugs and/or alcohol „« Presence of firearms in home „« Brain damage from head injury Youths who grow up in extremely stressful circumstances such as living in poverty or living with a single, unemployed parent are also at risk the experts say. These warning signs and factors are examples of what experts believe to be stereotypical of most juvenile criminals. It is not sufficient to blame poverty, the 1960's, drugs, uncaring parents, short-sighted social programs, misguided justice programs or any of the reasons so
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Approximate Word count = 2749
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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