Juvenile crime issues in the criminal justice system Essay

Juvenile crime issues in the criminal justice system - Essay Example The explanation of delinquency and state offences, i.e. of two terms that are quite common in juvenile justice, would help to understand that the differences between the adult court and the juvenile courts are more than estimated. Also, the review of the variables related to juvenile crimes would help to realize that juvenile court serves an important social need: the need for fighting crime in its initial appearance, i.e. among teenagers. From this point of view, juvenile court should keep its independence towards the adult court. One of the key differences between the juvenile court and the adult court is that the former does not allow to the offender to appeal, at least when the case has reached the level of the final order (Siegel & Welsh 2010, p.354). Neubauer & Fradella (2010) focus on another characteristic of juvenile court, as differentiated from the adult court: in juvenile court ‘most of the proceedings are informal’ (Neubauer & Fradella 2010, p.521), a practice that would not be accepted in the adult court. Furthermore, in the juvenile court proceedings are not published, as in the case of the adult court, aiming to protect the personal life of the offender, who is young and should not be stigmatized for the rest of his life (Neubauer & Fradella 2010, p.521). In addition, in juvenile court the option of jury is not available; indeed, it is prohibited to juvenile courts to use jury trials (Neubauer & Fradella 2010, p.521). This practice has been possibly introduced for protecting the pe rsonal life of young offender. On the other hand, Del Carmen & Trulson (2005) note that the differences between the juvenile and the adult courts are gradually decreased; it is suggested that in the future an integrated system should be used, for both the adult and the juvenile offenders, so that their treatment, in terms of the hearing and the evaluation of their case, is fairer. In order to understand the